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UNDER 

THE DESERT STARS 






Eloping with his beloved one from the earth, to seek a haven of 
refuge on some other planet, they saw the earth and moon whiz 
past them, with an imposing comet in distance. 




/ 

UNDER 

THE DESERT STARS 

A Novel 


BY 

FRANK ^.OESTER 

Author of “The Price of Inefficiency,” 
Etc., Etc. 


/ 

Illustrated by 

L. C. VAN BENSCOTEN V 


MCMXXIII 

WASHINGTON SQUARE PUBLISHING COMPANY 

57 West ioth Street, New York, N. Y. 



Copyright, 1923, 

By FRANK KOESTER 


All Rights Reserved 



©C1A7G03S4 

OCT 17 '23 ^ 






CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Hypnotic Victim. i 

II. At the Morgue.23 

III. The Moon-Shiners. 34 

IV. In Sporting Europe.54 

V. The Great Desert.77 

VI. The Dance of the Vampire ... 95 

VII. The Lovers on the Beach . . .111 

VIII. In the Clutches of an Amorous 

Caveman.153 

IX. On Camel’s Back through the Sahara 180 

X. The Lover’s Dream.201 

XI. Under the Knife.235 

XII. The Rum Runners.253 

XIII. The Deadly Rival.271 

XIV. Getting His Ideal Mate .... 291 












LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Frontispiece 

The Orgy.63 

The Duel.73 

The Vampire Dance.101 

On the Beach. 113 

The Interim.155 

The Struggle.165 

In Distress. 177 

The Sand Storm.203 

Saved.3 I 5 


• • 
Vli 














UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


CHAPTER I 


THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM 


HE early spring sun was riding low in the 



heavens, going westward to seek its rest. 
The haze of twilight was creeping in upon 


the city from across the bay and the canyon-like 
streets of lower New York were already steeped in 
shadow. 

Above the city rose the hum of industry and from 
the rivers the saucy whistles of tugboats, with their 
heavy laden barges, were telling those who would 
listen that they, too, were doing their bit. 

But all this was lost to the girl standing at the 
promenade rail of the Queensborough Bridge, that 
massive structure spanning the East River, linking 
Brooklyn with New York. The girl, beautiful to an 
extreme, both in face and form, stood clutching the 
railing with a convulsive grip. Her eyes were set 
on something far in the distance and so far as the 
passersby were concerned, she was in another world. 


2 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

Curious but hurried glances were aimed at her, 
but that was all. New Yorkers are always in a 
hurry and a passing glance satisfies the questions that 
arise in the minds of most of them. 

Carl Lohman, however, was different. His pro¬ 
fession had taught him to observe. So it was nat¬ 
ural that he, noticing the strained attitude of the 
girl, should give more than a casual glance. Her 
handkerchief had fallen at her feet and he stooped 
down to restore it. His action elicited the slightest 
notice from her, so he ventured to remark: “I beg 
your pardon, Miss, but I believe this is yours.” 

At this, the girl slightly turned her head to see 
who had spoken to her. Carl noticed, then, the 
strange look in her eyes. The fixed stare in them 
seemed to be seeking something beyond the vision 
of mortal ken. What dream, what strange medita¬ 
tion had so rudely been broken into? 

Mechanically she took one hand from the rail and 
accepted the dainty square of lace which Carl ex¬ 
tended to hen A bow, so slight as to be scarcely 
perceptible was her only reply. This was but the 
outward show. Inwardly she felt relieved to some 
extent. A glance told her that this man, with his 
intellectual countenance and commanding presence, 
was no ordinary flirt. Then, without a word, she 
walked away. 


THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM 


3 


Carl, believing that the handkerchief had been 
dropped with a purpose and curious to know more 
about the fascinating girl, hurried to her side and 
endeavored to start a conversation. 

“Rather a warm day, is it not?” 

No answer being given he continued: “Really 
tropical for this time of year.” 

Again no response. Carl realized that he had 
been mistaken. She had not intended to start a 
flirtation. He looked at her closely. Yes, that was 
it. She was nervous and trembling as from some 
all-powerful emotion. He would help her if he 
could. 

“Madam, you are ill. May I be of some assist¬ 
ance?” and he extended his arm for support. 

“Thank you, but I am all right,” was the rather 
testy retort. 

“You are a stranger here, are you not?” 

The girl looked at him carefully, and hesitatingly 
inquired, “Why do you ask? Simply because I did 
not reply to your questions.” 

“No, not that,” came from Carl; then, “Our 
American girls, or rather I should say, New York 
girls, resent being addressed by a stranger, even 
though he should offer aid when needed.” 

“Aid was not and is not now required. And to 


4 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

answer your questions, I am a stranger here,” came 
swiftly. 

“So I thought,” said he, flicking the ashes from 
his cigarette. 

“What made you think so?” parried the other, 
looking at him cautiously from under her heavy 
lashes. 

“Oh, because. Well, you see women of your type 
and eyes are strange here. I have lived here long 
enough to learn that.” 

“Strange?” she asked, with a forced smile and 
shrugging shoulders. 

“Yes. Beautifully strange.” 

“Do you really think so?” She was beginning to 
feel at ease. 

“Yes. And as for being a stranger, I would say 
you are a European and have not been in this coun¬ 
try very long. At any rate the fads of the moment 
have had no effect upon your taste.” 

“Thank you,” she returned with a smile. 

“Just here on a visit, if I dare ask?” 

Their eyes met. Each was trying to fathom the 
mind of the other. For a minute she was silent, then 
in a decisive tone of voice she replied, “You are 
right. I arrived here a week ago from abroad.” 

“From where—abroad?” 


THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM 5 

“That is asking questions.” She was fencing for 
time. 

“Oh, come on.” 

“What's that?” frowning. 

“You misunderstand me. I mean tell me where 
you came from. England?” 

“Do I look English?” 

“No. Not at all.” Admiring her gift of quick 
and thoughtful repartee, he supplemented, “No, you 
are neither English nor French.” 

“But England and France are not the only coun¬ 
tries, although they like to think so when they do not 
require the help of other countries,” she answered 
sarcastically. 

Their walk had by this time brought them to the 
bridge terminal. 

“Would you mind calling a taxi?” she asked. 

“With pleasure,” he replied, and called a passing 
car. 

It was with a heart that sank at the answer, that 
he asked, at the parting, “May I see you again?” 

A smile curved her exquisitely carven lips and 
seemed to brighten her face and lend added luster 
to her eyes as she slowly shook her head in the 
negative. 

Carl stepped forward to help her into the taxi, 
but before he could realize it, she had gathered her 


6 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


skirts, revealing a dainty pair of ankles and entered 
the machine. A moment later the door was closed 
and the car sped away, leaving Carl standing at the 
curb, watching it with charmed eyes. 

Hat still in hand, and entirely oblivious of the 
curious eyes of those who had witnessed the incident, 
he pondered over her lithe and graceful form, the 
large fathomless eyes and the subtle charm of her 
musical voice. But his heart would have pulsed with 
added vigor had he heard, as the taxi started, her 
scarcely audible “Auf Wiedersehen.” 

A final look at the parting car gave him a pleasing 
view of her smiling face, as she gave him a gracious 
nod. He bowed and waved his hand in return, mur¬ 
muring half aloud, “Some girl!” 

Suddenly his musing was rudely broken into by 
the passing of a truck and the growled warning from 
its driver to get away from the curb. Brought thus 
back to the stern world of reality and the common¬ 
place, he gave his cane a vicious twirl and muttered 
beneath his breath, “Damn it! That’s what I call 
hard luck”—throwing away his cigarette. 

Having given vent to this expletive, he turned and 
went his way, seeing nothing but that beautiful smil¬ 
ing face which was the center and pivot of his con¬ 
fused mind. 

At the Claza, Sana, for that was the name of this 


THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM 


7 


strange girl, alighted from the taxi, and after pay¬ 
ing and dismissing the driver, stepped quickly into 
the hotel. 

She took the elevator to the eighth floor. But a 
change had come over her. Her face was pale and 
she was visibly perturbed, as she went down the 
corridor. 

Her hand sought a door knob, and as she hesi¬ 
tated for an instance, her perturbation seemed to 
leave her. She entered the room without knocking 
and as she did so, a middle aged man, Frangois de 
Rochelle, looked up in surprise and forced a thin 
smile of welcome to his lips. 

His words of greeting, “Sana, you are back 
again,” must have rung in his own ears with their 
true bluntness, so he quickly added, “So soon, mon 
cherie?” 

He arose from his chair and walking over to 
Sana, took her face tenderly in his hands and re¬ 
marked, rather peevishly, “You are pale, joujou. 
Did not the weather agree with you? I thought the 
fresh air blowing over the bridge would do you 
good. Did you not go there?” 

The contented smile faded from Sana’s face and 
was replaced by one of pitiful sadness as she queried 
blankly, “Where?” 

The far-off stare in the girl’s eyes and her strange 


8 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


attitude gave de Rochelle food for thought that was 
not of the most pleasant kind. 

With a scarcely conscious gesture Sana removed 
her hat and mechanically walked to the couch where 
she sat down, to look with a vacant gaze out of the 
window over Central Park. De Rochelle, pushing 
aside some papers, sought a seat next to her, and 
placing his arm about her shoulder, asked in a voice 
that bespoke his own anxiety, “What is it, 4no»-che- 
rie? What troubles you today? Come, let me feel 
your pulse.” 

She laughed lightly, although not with content¬ 
ment, as his hand encircled her wrist and he placed 
his ear upon her chest, in an effort to gauge the pul¬ 
sations of her heart. 

For a few moments there was a silence between 
them. Then de Rochelle, raising his head and look¬ 
ing straight into her eyes, said, “There is nothing 
the matter with you.” Then kissing her, he whis¬ 
pered, “And your lips are just as sweet as ever.” 

Sana, slightly bored, freed herself gently from 
his arms, and as she did so, murmured “Oh, it is 
nothing.” Throwing her head backward, she added, 
“I do not feel very well, but it is beyond me to say 
what it is.” 

A nameless fear had suddenly arisen within her 
heart. Yes, that was it. The fear of speaking to 


THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM 


9 


him of the incident on the bridge. It would prob¬ 
ably cause him worry and it would rob her of the 
delicious dreams she would weave about the man 
who was already enthroned in the most secret re¬ 
cesses of her heart. 

So saying no more she rose from the couch, and 
left the apartment to go to her own room, leav¬ 
ing de Rochelle alone, in consternation and uneasy 
contemplation. 

When she reached her room, Sana threw herself 
upon the bed, burying her face in the pillows. Pres¬ 
ently, however, she rose to a sitting posture, and 
tangled her fingers madly in her hair, asking herself 
unanswerable questions. 

“Why should I want to commit suicide? Does 
not Francois love me, and do I not love him with all 
my heart? Putting myself away in such a cowardly 
manner—would he ever get over it? And then, too, 
what of my dear mother?” 

Having tortured her mind in that fashion, she 
slipped from the bed and approaching the dresser, 
she rested her hands heavily upon an open drawer 
and glared into the mirror. With piercing eyes she 
gazed at herself and gradually a smile came to her 
face and a new light gleamed in her eyes. 

“Beautifully strange—yes, he was right. I am 
too young to die. And I am not going to.” 




IO 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


With a determination bom of a new and greater 
hope, she threw her head back and her long, lustrous 
hair, thus shaken loose, unrolled its dark coils down 
over her shoulders and far below her waistline. 
Her clothes seemed too tight, so she loosened them, 
stripping off her outer garment. There was some¬ 
thing sirenic about her beauty as she stood there 
with wild-hanging hair, her breasts heaving with ex¬ 
citement. She commenced to rearrange her dishev¬ 
eled hair, and a smile crept to her lips as she ad¬ 
mired the reflection in the glass. She was indeed 
well aware of her fascinating and dangerous beauty. 

And well she might be. The well-rounded neck, 
the soft, graciously curved and perfectly propor¬ 
tioned shoulders and arms, the slight tan of the skin, 
the great magic eyes and the pretty face with its 
lofty brow, surmounted by waves of dark hair, gave 
her the positive stamp of a strange and unique 
beauty: a type one so seldom finds to admire. It 
was not artificial, nor was it yet exotic—reality was 
its only expression. 

Standing before the glass, she unconsciously made 
a few gestures and movements which held in them a 
captivating influence when wielded by one who was 
naturally so comely. Unconsciously, too, she took 
inventory of her personal charm. It was her 
woman’s instinct that told her that all men would 


THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM 


11 

be her willing slaves, should such a thing be her 
desire. But it was not. Frangois was her first 
lover, and she wanted him to be the only one. 
Everything was to be for him and him alone. 

Unfortunately, most women after they secure the 
man for whom they have angled do not know how 
to hold their catch. They neglect the very things 
that first drew the man to them, they forget their 
art in a feeling of possession and security. And then 
they wonder why there are so many divorces. 

Sana, who was but nineteen, was well versed in 
feminine artfulness and had already mastered all its 
varied forms and gestures. Her inheritance from 
her mother, and the refinement and culture she had 
acquired, gave her both finesse and charm in addi¬ 
tion to her amazing loveliness. 

Facing the glass, she shook her head and said to 
herself, “To destroy myself ? Never! Gypsy blood 
would not sanction that.” 

Sana hastily dressed herself and without advising 
de Rochelle of her movements, left the hotel and 
sought a friend of hers who lived on 57th Street. 

This was a Mrs. O’Brien, a woman, worldly wise 
and one who had married young and often. Sana 
had met her on the steamer “George Washington,’’ 
on her way from Cherbourg to New York. Mrs. 
O’Brien was returning from her latest honeymoon, 


12 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


and the chance meeting between the two had ripened 
into a most intimate friendship. Regardless of what 
gossip may have said about her, Mrs. O’Brien was 
real in every sense of the word. 

It was to her, therefore, that Sana turned in her 
trouble. Mrs. O’Brien listened to Sana’s tale with 
a motherly interest, and explaining in part her in¬ 
tentions, she took Sana to the office of the famous 
Dr. White, on the same block. 

The doctor, an elderly and affable gentleman, had 
been in New York for many years, and the fame 
that had preceded him from Europe, where he had 
been a professor at the University of Heidelberg, 
increased with his years of practice in America. 

He and Mrs. O’Brien were well acquainted and 
with a cheery “Good evening” he led the two women 
from the reception room, into his office, which was 
splendidly furnished and embellished with numerous 
books, charts and artistic curiosities. There was 
nothing about the place to give the visitor the chill 
that generally comes on entering a doctor’s office. 
Instead the room seemed to be pervaded with an 
atmosphere of congenial warmth. 

The three seated themselves preparatory to the 
consultation. Sana broke the momentary silence by 
speaking clearly and calmly. 

“My fiance, Francois de Rochelle, for whom I 


THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM 


13 


also work as secretary, induces me daily to walk 
across the bridge to get fresh air. Whenever I do 
so I always feel a great desire to jump over the rail 
and drown myself in the waters below. This sensa¬ 
tion increases, like my love for him, as the days go 
by. Why it is, I do not know. I love my fiance 
dearly and he returns my love with equal fervor. 
We intend to be married immediately upon our re¬ 
turn to Paris. I do not wish Frangois to be worried 
over me, and for that reason I have never confided 
in him my desire to commit suicide. Neither have I 
mentioned to him my intention to consult a doctor.” 

She paused, but Dr. White said only “Yes, go on.” 

“Once in a while, of an evening, as a matter of 
amusement Francois hypnotizes me. It always 
makes me feel much better. But the following day, 
when I walk across the bridge, the horrible impulse 
to do away with myself, forces itself upon me. Day 
by day the desire increases in intensity. I should 
have killed myself today if it had not been for a 
man who spoke to me just as I was about to leap 
over the rail. Can you tell me what the trouble is, 
doctor?” 

Dr. White was deep in thought. Fie had often 
practised the subtle art of hypnotism as an aid to 
his medical work. He knew, therefore, the sinister 
truth that lay behind Sana’s words. 


H 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


Rousing himself at her question, he looked at 
Sana closely and asked, “Will you consent to enter 
the hypnotic state under my influence?” 

Sana recalled to mind some of the risque situ¬ 
ations she had found herself in upon walking from 
the trances, induced by her lover. The memories 
caused her to pause an instance, then raising her 
hands she cried, “No, no!” 

The doctor seemed to comprehend the thoughts 
that were surging through her mind, and he inter¬ 
rupted with, “You need have no fear. Your friend, 
Mrs. O’Brien is here and the experiment may be of 
benefit to both you and your fiance.” 

Her reply to the man’s kindly remonstration 
showed how easily he had dispelled her fears. 

“Yes, perhaps it will be better so.” 

Sana reclined restfully back within the cushioned 
chair and the doctor bent over her. With his hands 
he made a few passes before her face, with a steady 
look of intensity he performed the preliminaries of 
the hypnotist. His piercing glance held her gaze. 
His eyes seemed fairly to devour hers. Soon her 
eyes dimmed and slowly commenced to close. Her 
mind was giving way to his dominating will. Slowly 
the girl’s eyes closed entirely, the muscles of her 
body relaxed and her mind sought another plane. 


THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM 


i5 

Dr. White straightened up and turning to Mrs. 
O’Brien said softly, “She is gone.” 

The doctor drew his chair close to and directly in 
front of Sana. In a clear voice that seemed more 
to make itself felt rather than heard, he propounded 
his queries. 

“What does your fiance, Francois de Rochelle, 
do when you are under his hypnotic influence?” 

Slowly came the answer, “He teaches me some 
dance steps and also makes love to me.” 

“Do you really love him?” 

“Well, I would do anything to please him, 
but-” 

“But what?” 

“I did not love him before we were engaged.” 

“How did that happen?” 

No answer forthcoming, Dr. White commanded 
sharply, “Come, come, answer me.” 

Sana responded with “I did not care for him 
enough. One evening while at dinner with him in a 
private dining-room of a famous Parisian restau¬ 
rant he hypnotized me, and directed me to love him 
and prepare for our marriage. From then on I be¬ 
gan to love him, and when he was sure of my affec¬ 
tion he disclosed to me the secret of why I loved 
him. But I did not mind, for my love was already 
deep rooted.” 



i6 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


“Are you wealthy? Did you inherit much 
money?” 

“No. Just a few thousands.” 

“Is your life insured?” 

“Yes, for $50,000.” 

“Who will get this money in case you die?” 

“Francois.” 

“Is de Rochelle’s life insured likewise?” 

“Yes, for $10,000.” 

Then like a bolt of lightning came the question, 
“Did de Rochelle ever direct you to commit suicide 
by leaping from the Queensborough Bridge?” 

Sana shivered slightly. Her entire body seemed 
to shrink as she reached forth her arms and groped 
blindly in the empty air. 

“Answer me!” The doctor fairly hissed the 
words. 

In a tone scarce above a whisper came the de¬ 
layed reply, “Frangois forbade me to speak on this 
subject, should I ever be in a trance induced by any 
other than himself. I will not—I cannot answer 
that question. I will not!” 

“Answer me. Did Frangois direct you to commit 
suicide? I demand an answer.” 

“I refuse to speak of this matter.” 

Finding himself powerless to draw from that un¬ 
conscious mind the answer he had hoped to get, Dr. 


THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM 


17 

White turned to Mrs. O’Brien, his face but thinly 
veiling the disappointment he felt. 

“Say nothing of this latter question to the girl,” 
he cautioned, “it would only serve to distract her.” 

He turned to the girl, and once more making a 
pass before her eyes, directed, “Wake up.” 

Sana opened her eyes, rose to an upright position 
and slowly gazed blankly about her. Then recalling 
where she was and for what purpose she had come, 
a more tranquil look crept into her eyes. 

After Sana had recovered herself, Dr. White re¬ 
quested that she and Mrs. O’Brien call the follow¬ 
ing day. To this they readily consented and the ap¬ 
pointment was made. 

After Mrs. O’Brien and the girl had left the 
office, Doctor White sank into a chair, muttering 
“Strange—very strange.” 

For a long time he sat there, with his head bowed 
in deep thought. Suddenly, he stood up, saying half- 
aloud, “Professor Grant. That’s the man for this.” 

Going to his telephone he called up the profes¬ 
sor’s home. 

“Hello, Grant. This is White. Can you possibly 
be at my office tomorrow noon? I wish you would 
come. I have a most interesting case on my hands— 
most interesting.” A pause, then, “You will? Fine. 
I knew I could rely upon you. At noon, sharp.” 


18 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

The following day Sana and Mrs. O’Brien went 
to the doctor’s office. He and Prof. Grant were 
waiting for them. 

Dr. White introduced Prof. Grant, adding for 
Sana’s benefit, “Prof. Grant can be trusted. I am 
sure he will be able to help you. Just do as he asks, 
and everything will come out all right.” 

Sana smiled pleasantly at Prof. Grant, who taking 
her by the hand said, “I shall put you under a hyp¬ 
notic spell, and while under its influence you must 
answer each and every question I put to you. It is 
very important and necessary that you do so, for 
your own benefit. A cure cannot be effected until 
you have spoken as you are bidden. Remember 
that.” 

“I shall do as you say. Yes, I will. I want to be 
cured for the sake of Frangois.” 

Little did she dream what the outcome would be. 
Sana, of course, knew nothing of the diabolical 
schemes of de Rochelle. The victim of hypnotic in¬ 
fluence can never recall to mind, while conscious, 
what took place during a trance. 

Prof. Grant was a powerfully built man, with a 
heavy black beard and a pair of black eyes that 
seemed to seek the innermost recesses of the soul. 

Taking Sana’s wrist he gazed into her eyes with 
a stare that ever increased in piercing power and 


THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM 


19 


concentration. At first her glance met his frankly, 
but within a fleeting moment of time, before she 
could realize what was happening, Sana closed her 
eyes, and with relaxing muscles sank back in her 
chair—totally under the magic spell woven by those 
piercing eyes. 

Grant came to the point quickly, with “Tell me. 
Did your fiance, Frangois de Rochelle, direct you to 
commit suicide while under his influence? What 
was the purpose? Tell me.” 

Sana hesitated. 

Grant fairly shouted, “Answer me. I command 
it!” 

Slowly the words came, barely audible to the 
eager listeners. 

“Yes, each time that he hypnotized me he directed 
and commanded me to drown myself by leaping 
from the bridge into the river. When I was not 
under his power, he induced me to walk every day 
across the bridge. He told me it would do me good 
to get the air. While in a trance, he also forbade 
me to ever mention to him, while in a normal state, 
of my desire to drown myself. He impressed upon 
me, also, that should I ever be under the hypnotic 
influence of another and be questioned regarding 
this, I was to refuse to answer.” 


20 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


“Did he ever intimate his purpose in wanting you 
to kill yourself?” 

“One night he laughed, so I recall, saying that 
he would then have plenty of money and could re¬ 
turn to France to marry his schoolday sweetheart.” 

“Are you sure of that?” demanded Grant. 

“Yes. He even told me her name. I knew her 
well. Her name is Edith Durex.” 

“Ah! Tell me, how often and for how long has 
he been hypnotizing you?” 

“Every evening last week.” 

“Did you intend carrying out his demands?” 

“Yes. I would do anything for Francois. Only 
yesterday was I prevented from doing so by a stran¬ 
ger. But I will do it as soon as I get the chance. 
The feeling grows stronger within me every time I 
cross the bridge. And something makes me go to 
the bridge each day.” 

As Sana gave voice to these strange remarks, 
Mrs. O'Brien could hardly suppress her exclamation 
“My God!” 

Grant and White stepped aside and held earnest 
conversation for a moment. Grant spoke decisively, 
“The secret is out, and we would be parties to the 
crime if we did not take steps to prevent the act. 
The girl cannot be allowed to return to de Rochelle. 


THE HYPNOTIC VICTIM 


21 


Suppose you ask Mrs. O’Brien to take care of her 
for a few days?” 

“Yes, I think that would be best,” and Dr. White 
stepped over to Mrs. O’Brien, with the question, 
“Do you think you could take your friend to your 
home and keep her for a few days? It would be the 
means of helping her out of her trouble.” 

Mrs. O’Brien, who was nearly overcome with pity 
for Sana, instantly consented, so eager was she to 
do something. 

“Fine,” from White, giving Grant a slight nod 
to indicate that his request had been favorably met. 

It was then that Prof. Grant, with a smile on his 
face, stepped to the side of the insensible girl. His 
voice seemed to ring doubly deep and clear, “From 
now on you will never again be possessed of that 
desire to commit suicide. You are forever free.” 

Taking again her right wrist, he softly said, “It 
is all right, madam,” and with a start Sana returned 
to consciousness. The happy smile upon her face 
told better than words her relief. 

As they were about to leave Dr. White stepped to 
Sana’s side and said gently, “Miss Sana, please ac¬ 
company Mrs. O’Brien to her home. If you wish 
to go to the hotel you may do so, but not until after 
six o’clock. Do you understand?” 


22 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


Sana nodded agreeably and assisted by Mrs. 
O’Brien she left the two men to their thoughts. 

Grant broke the silence. They had been silently 
thinking of some plan to follow. 

“A letter will do the trick. We shall put the fear 
of the Almighty in that rascal’s heart.” 

“All right. Let’s get busy. No time can be lost 
in dealing with him.” 

The letter was written immediately and dis¬ 
patched to the hotel by messenger. 

One can only imagine the thoughts that surged 
through de Rochelle’s head when he read the 
following: 


M. Francois de Rochelle 
Hotel Claza 
New York, N. Y. 

Dear Sir: 

Your secretary, Miss Sana, attempted to jump 
from the Queensborough Bridge to drown herself, 
as directed and demanded of her, while under your 
hypnotic influence, so that you could collect the $50,- 
000 insurance and marry your old time sweetheart. 

We advise you to leave this city before five 
o’clock this evening, as by six o’clock we shall have 
reported the case to the District Attorney. 

Yours truly, 

H. Grant, 

Robt. E. White. 


CHAPTER II 


AT THE MORGUE 

T HE tiny hands of the ormulu clock upon the 
mantel told Sana’s anxious heart that it 
was a quarter to six. 

With a strange presentiment of coming evil that 
defied analysis and strongly against the wishes of 
her hostess, Sana left the house and hurried to the 
hotel. 

Reaching de Rochelle’s suite she rapped at the 
door. No answer came. A second rapping proved 
as futile as the first. 

“He is out,” murmured the girl as she sought her 
own room. She wanted to rest, but could not. For 
fully half an hour she paced the floor, a dreadful op¬ 
pression as of some impending catastrophe weigh¬ 
ing down upon her. She could not shake it off. The 
very silence of the room seemed to creep into her 
heart and dull her mind. 

Once more she crossed the corridor to de Ro¬ 
chelle’s rooms. This time she gave the door a re¬ 
sounding knock. But still no response. Gently, 


23 


24 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


almost fearfully, she tried the door. It was un¬ 
locked, so she entered the room. 

A strange sight met her eyes. Disorder was 
everywhere. The little writing table, usually so 
neat and well ordered, was a confusion of jumbled 
papers and letters. Signs of a hasty departure were 
everywhere. 

Sana, however, took it only to mean that some 
business interest had called de Rochelle away in a 
hurry. Somewhat relieved Sana picked up a book 
and going over to the deeply cushioned divan, sat 
down to beguile away the time pending his return. 
But her mind was in a turmoil and she could not 
concentrate on her reading. 

Nervously she let the minutes creep past. At last 
she could stand the strain no longer. Taking the 
phone she called the desk clerk and had him page de 
Rochelle. It was of no avail. Again she tried it, 
but still the missing man was not to be found. 

Beside herself with fear Sana called up Dr. 
White, but he assured her that everything was all 
right and that no doubt she would hear from de 
Rochelle later on. She tried to reason with herself 
that there was nothing to fear, but as the hours went 
by, each seemingly longer than the one before, she 
grew so restless that her anxiety could not be calmed. 

She could wait no longer in that lonely room, so 


AT THE MORGUE 


25 


about ten o’clock she hurried over to see Mrs. 
O’Brien. To her she related her fears, but she 
could do nothing to comfort her or offer any solu¬ 
tion. Alarmed at Sana’s state of mind Mrs. 
O’Brien called up Dr. White. 

His words, though laconic, conveyed a world of 
meaning: 

“All is well, and will be for the benefit of Sana. 
Keep her at your home tonight.” 

But Sana would not listen to any such suggestion. 
Her alarm had increased three-fold and although 
Mrs. O’Brien did everything to persuade her to re¬ 
main, Sana hurried back to the hotel. 

She felt sure that by this time her sweetheart 
would have returned. But the desk clerk had 
neither seen nor heard anything of him. 

Once more she found herself within the precincts 
of his apartment. She could hardly keep from 
screaming aloud in her misery. 

Her eyes roved around the empty room, faltered 
in their course, and the wandering gaze became a 
fixed stare. She had found a clew! 

Upon the radiator she saw a bit of charred paper. 
She bent over it, studying it intently. But the mes¬ 
sage it had carried was illegible. A handful of black 
ashes. What was their secret? She did not touch 
them, but took a match, and kneeling on the floor 


26 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


slowly turned the charred paper around with the 
match in an effort to decipher something. Here and 
there a word could be seen, but nothing to convey 
any meaning to her fevered brain. She lit the match 
and holding it back of the legible letters managed to 
read “tell clerk” “Sana” “leave,” but that was all. 

Deeply puzzled and not knowing what to make of 
it, she lighted another match, hoping to decipher 
other words. But before she had realized it, the 
flame caught the unburned part of the paper and de¬ 
stroyed it completely. 

Unmindful of everything she sat on the floor, puz¬ 
zled and heartbroken. 

Brought to her senses by the chiming of midnight, 
the confused girl sought her room. Almost uncon¬ 
sciously she disrobed and threw herself upon the 
bed. Through the long hours of the night she lay 
with unclosed eyes and with every nerve strained to 
catch the sound of the returning footsteps of the one 
she loved so dearly. But she listened in vain. The 
dawn of the new day crept in upon her as she lay 
there given up to the grief that was hers. 

She arose and called the desk clerk. He was 
sorry, but he could get no response from de Ro¬ 
chelle’s rooms, in spite of his efforts to do so. 

Mechanically Sana dressed, walking about the 
room without intention or aim. 


AT THE MORGUE 


27 

It was a little after six when she again entered de 
Rochelle’s room. It was still unoccupied—unoccu¬ 
pied, but yet tenanted with an almost tangible 
shadow—the presence of silence. 

The thought that de Rochelle had deliberately 
deserted her did not enter Sana’s mind for quite a 
time. When it did, it tended to clear her brain, lend 
calmness to her being. She made a brave attempt 
to figure it out, saying to herself, “What for? And 
if so, what will become of me? What shall I do 
in this strange city?” And her thoughts went back 
to Paris and her childhood days, when she had 
someone to watch over her and guide her footsteps. 

Sana realized her helplessness. She was alone. 
Dear as she was, her friend Mrs. O’Brien could not 
help her, nor could she help solve the mystery of 
de Rochelle’s absence. So she looked around the 
rooms once more and left. 

In a trembling voice, she questioned the desk 
clerk, “Have you had any word from Mr. de 
Rochelle?” 

The clerk was perusing the morning paper as she 
put the question to him. He started violently, gazed 
intently into her face, then back at the paper. 
Finally he said “de Rochelle? Is this the de Ro¬ 
chelle you mean?” And with a pencil he marked 
a column in the paper and handed it to her. 



28 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

Her worst fears were more than realized as she 
read the tragic headlines: 

BRIDGE JUMPER SUCCEEDS 
FRANCOIS DE ROCHELLE 

of 

SAHARA DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION 
DROWNED LAST NIGHT IN EAST RIVER 
NEAR QUEENSBOROUGH BRIDGE 
ADDRESS UNKNOWN 

Boys playing on the water front last night discov¬ 
ered a man’s body floating toward the shore and 
with the help of a policeman it was soon recovered. 
The face was greatly disfigured, due to his striking 
the bridge pilaster. The body was removed to the 
morgue. . . . 

Sana grew pale. Great tears forced themselves 
from the deep seas of her eyes and the paper, fall¬ 
ing from her limp grasp fluttered to the floor. The 
clerk, noticing this, hastily walked from behind his 
desk and reached Sana just in time to catch her as 
she fell in a dead faint. 

A small crowd of early hotel guests soon gathered 
about Sana. Among them was the hotel doctor, 
who ordered that the girl be at once taken to her 
room. A nurse was summoned and with her aid 


AT THE MORGUE 


29 


the physician soon revived Sana. Quiet and rest, 
he said, were all that would be required to restore 
the weakened girl to a normal condition. 

That morning, Mrs. O’Brien, breakfasting with 
her husband, read of the drowned man in the paper. 
Believing that Dr. White had been implicated in 
some foul play, she at once sought him out. Yes, 
he had read of it, but was as much puzzled as she. 

Together they called on the prostrate Sana. She 
was lying on her bed weeping and softly calling the 
name of her lover. The couple sought to explain, 
and hoped, in doing so, to mitigate the horror of 
the catastrophe. But the attempt was fruitless, the 
girl refused to be comforted or quieted. Realizing 
the futility of their desires, they took their leave, 
feeling the worse for so painful and depressing a 
call. They decided, however, to call later in the 
day. 

About noon Mrs. O’Brien and Dr. White again 
called to see Sana. Their explanations were lost on 
the girl. She could not comprehend and she feared 
to believe. All she would say was, half to herself 
“Frangois, Frangois, come to me. I need you so.” 

As time went by, however, Sana became calmer 
under the soothing words of her friends, and the 
three, together with Prof. Grant, who had been 
summoned, went to the District Attorney’s office. 


30 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

When they had been seated in the private office 
of that official, Sana and the others were greatly 
surprised at the attitude he immediately assumed. 
Without hesitation, he proceeded to implicate Sana 
in the death of de Rochelle. His questioning was 
ruthless and his accusations most bitter. From his 
words one would gather that Sana was the guilty 
one—that in some way or other she had contrived to 
put her sweetheart out of the way. 

The processes of our law are peculiar, and to a 
stranger, as Sana was, to such methods, it was in¬ 
deed difficult to understand. She had undergone a 
severe nervous strain—a terrible shock—and, natu¬ 
rally, was far from being in a calm collected state 
of mind. It was this nervousness, then, that had led 
the man to believe her guilty of some crime. Pe¬ 
culiar? Yes, to be sure—but many a man has come 
to realize that justice is more than blindfolded! 

Dr. White, although quite familiar with incidents 
of this sort, was outraged at the procedure. Know¬ 
ing, as he did, the true circumstances of the case, 
he could bear it no longer. His agitation was dem¬ 
onstrated clearly, when, in a cold, cutting voice, he 
interrupted the questioner with, “This young lady 
knows absolutely nothing as to the why and where¬ 
fore of de Rochelle’s death. At the time of his 
disappearance, she was at the home of Mrs. O’Brien. 



AT THE MORGUE 


3i 

It is clear, then, that you are injuring her with your 
accusations.” 

At this, the tide of questions turned to overwhelm 
the O’Briens. Suffice to say, it was easy for them 
to establish an alibi both for Sana and themselves. 

Dr. White was next to face the fire of the attack. 
His explanations with regard to the dead man’s 
hypnotic influence over Sana, served only to add fuel 
to the flames. A barrage of questions were hurled 
at him in an effort to trick him into saying some¬ 
thing that might be used against him or one of the 
others. White, however, was too clever a man, and 
knowing just what he was up against, successfully 
parried the thrusts of his opponent. 

The outcome was, that, failing to secure any satis¬ 
faction from his visitors, the District Attorney 
bowed them out, mumbling, “Well, it will be in¬ 
vestigated further.” 

Leaving the place, the party wended their way to 
the morgue, to make an effort to identify the body. 

There are moments when long restrained grief 
and anxiety break loose from the mortal fetters that 
bind them—they escape the chains, though in their 
flight they rend the soul and tear the heart. Such 
a moment came to Sana as she stood in the house 
of the dead, awaiting her turn to look at the body 
of the drowned man. 



32 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


She freed herself from the supporting arm of 
Mrs. O’Brien and with a cry of anguish pushed her 
way to the body lying upon the rude slab. 

Silently she gazed upon the form. The facial 
features were wholly unrecognizable and his curly 
hair, through which she had so often delightedly 
run her fingers now was matted with dried and 
clotted blood. The eye that had fascinated her— 
the lips that had so often sought hers—all these 
were hideously mutilated. 

Sana sank to her knees and fell across the body, 
sobbing, “Francois, Frangois come back—come back 
to me—your Sana—your joujou. O Frangois, why 
did you leave me? I loved you so. Oh! look at 
me.” 

And as she raved she peered with pitying intent 
into the sunken eyes of the lifeless man. 

“Come, my child, we must be going,” burst upon 
the ears of the anguished girl, as she moaned and 
wrung her hands hysterically over the form of her 
dead love. 

“Yes,” came from lips unconscious of the utter¬ 
ance. 

“Frangois, I must leave you—Frangois, goodbye 
—goodb-” 

With her farewell uncompleted Sana fell in a 
swoon at the feet of Professor Grant. 






AT THE MORGUE 


33 


They carried her into the office, and after re¬ 
gaining consciousness she was led to the waiting au¬ 
tomobile in which she was taken to Mrs. O’Brien’s 
home. 

The following day a representative of the insur¬ 
ance company called upon the O’Briens to hand Sana 
a check for the ten thousand dollars insurance on de 
Rochelle’s life, of which Sana was the beneficiary. 

Sana looked at the check with a feeling of dis¬ 
gust, and finally passed it back to the man saying, 
“I don’t want his money.” 

“But it is not his money,” came the answer, “It 
is the insurance company’s money.” 

“Well, I don’t want it anyway.” 

“But what shall I say at the office?” 

“Tell them I shall let them know in a few days. 
Perhaps I shall donate it to some charity.” 

At this display of pride, the agent muttered some¬ 
thing about her being an exception, and at a signal 
from Mrs. O’Brien, who noticed that Sana was be¬ 
coming nervous, he left the room. 


CHAPTER III 


THE MOONSHINERS 


S ANA was confined to a sick-bed for several 
weeks, at the home of Mrs. O’Brien, fol¬ 
lowing the visit to the morgue. The trag¬ 
edy had well nigh shattered her nerves and only 
the most careful attention on the part of her host 
and Dr. White prevented a serious breakdown. 
But none could be more considerate than they, and 
though slowly and through periods of great suffer¬ 
ing, Sana regained her strength. 

When at last she was able to be up and about in 
the open air, Mrs. O’Brien prevailed upon her to 
accept her invitation to go with the O’Brien family 
to their bungalow in the Catskills. New York was 
sweltering. It was late in August and at times the 
thermometer would show one hundred in the shade. 

At the earnest pleading of her friend, Sana smiled, 
“Oh, you are so good—you are the kindest woman 
I ever met.” 

Mrs. O’Brien laughed at that, saying, “My dear 
child, it is easy to be kind to you.” 


34 


THE MOONSHINERS 


35 

“Em sure I don’t know why I am imposing upon 
you so much.” 

Mrs. O’Brien stroked Sana’s hair and replied, 
“Don’t let us talk about it. You simply come along. 
Your being with us will be ample reward.” 

“Well, if that is the way you feel about it, I surely 
cannot refuse. Yes, I shall be glad to go with you.” 

“Now you are showing the proper spirit.” She 
rang a bell, adding, “I shall tell the maid to pack at 
once. We can’t get away from here quick enough to 
suit me. Perhaps you didn’t know but Mr. O’Brien 
is on his way to the mountains already, to get things 
in order.” 

The next morning they were soon on board the 
river steamer, sailing up the majestic Hudson. 

It was an ideal day for a river trip. The two 
women seated well forward on the upper deck 
basked in the warm sunshine, which, tempered by 
the cooling breeze that came down river, seemed so 
utterly different from the sweltering sun that beamed 
on the city’s paved streets that they could readily 
have believed themselves to be in another land. 
Sana was very much interested in a book she had 
brought with her and Mrs. O’Brien likewise read 
from the various magazines she had purchased at 
the dock. So the morning hours fled quickly by, so 


36 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

quickly indeed that but few words passed between 
them before the dinner call was sounded. 

The stimulating hours spent on deck had given 
them a hearty appetite. They ate leisurely and con¬ 
tentedly, Mrs. O’Brien more than once commenting 
on the change that had already been wrought in 
Sana. 

Returning to the deck they resumed their chairs 
and books. Reading soon became tiresome, how¬ 
ever, and they fell to talking of this, that and what¬ 
not, as will two ladies at any time. 

The boat was now sailing the upper reaches of 
the river; with the mountains in the distance. Sana 
suddenly remarked: 

“This reminds me of a journey I once took up 
the Rhine. Only the castles and winefields which 
lend an added interest and romance to that historic 
river, are missing here.” 

“True, my dear,” from Mrs. O’Brien, “but the 
homes of our millionaires answer the purpose of the 
castles. As for the vineyards—they are ‘verboten,’ 
as the saying is, since our country has gone dry.” 

It was with a curious questioning glance, her head 
turned sidewise toward her companion, that Sana 
said, “But there is always wine at your home? 
Where does it come from?” 

“Oh, my husband takes care of that. He used 


THE MOONSHINERS 


37 


to import his wines from France and Germany, but 
that, of course, cannot be done now. So we have to 
do the next best thing and that is buy it from those 
who manage to get it into the country. As for 
stronger liquors, anyone who has the price can get 
all they wish. England attends to supplying us with 
her national drinks, so we get all the whiskey and 
brandy we wish. The English have seen what a 
wonderful market they have here for their goods— 
wet goods, you understand, and they are taking the 
opportunity to make the best of it.” 

This was all news to Sana, and she was content 
to let her friend go on with her story. 

“Yes, indeed. Special ‘rum ships’ are operated 
under the usual English governmental protection. 
These ships come within a few miles from shore, re¬ 
maining just far enough outside to be beyond the 
reach of the Federal authorities. ‘Rum runners’— 
fast motor boats—go out to these ships, get a cargo, 
and under cover of darkness or a favorable fog, 
transport it to the land of liberty.” 

“How is it they can smuggle in this contraband 
when your government is so efficient and all your 
authorities so honest in carrying out the law?” 

“Don’t worry, child. Many of those authorities, 
although appearing thoroughly honest on the face of 
things, get their rake-off. Every so often we read, 



38 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

in the papers, of some such authority being caught 
at just that sort of thing. Why, some of those fel¬ 
lows are getting rich on the graft. It seems to me 
that laws of that kind are always enacted for just 
one purpose. And that is that certain politicians, 
or preferably their friends, may enrich themselves 
at the expense of the general public. The rich today 
can get all the liquor they want, but part of the price 
they pay goes into the pockets of some grafter. 

“It was always the same. Why I remember the 
time, some ten years ago, a law was put into effect 
to control the sale of drinks on Sundays. Food had 
to be served with the drinks to keep within the law. 
It was a farce. The protective police and their go- 
betweens took the graft, and the sandwich which 
was served with the drinks went back and forth be¬ 
tween the bar and the tables, acting simply as a 
chaperon. The same sandwich was served a hun¬ 
dred times or so, before it ended its career in the 
garbage pail. Provided, of course, some hungry in¬ 
dividual, short a dime for food, would not swallow 
it with his whiskey.” 

From Sana, “Why, I thought people in this coun¬ 
try always voted on issues of this kind—that is, if 
the people wanted the country dry, they would de¬ 
cide it and not the government, the servant of the 
people, and that for this reason you call it a democ- 


THE MOONSHINERS 


39 


racy. Only then could it, in truth, be called a ‘gov¬ 
ernment of the people, by the people, and for the 
people.’ Also, I believe you call it ‘The Sweet Land 
of Liberty.’ What does that mean?” 

“My dear child, it can readily be seen that you 
have not been here long.” 

“Mrs. O’Brien, surely you do not mean to tell me 
that the people of this great country have nothing 
to say in matters of this kind? If that is so, could 
their opinions count with the government in matters 
of less importance than the stability of society? 
Stranger as I am, I have noticed how big an increase 
there has been in crime and other matters that can 
be laid directly at the door of this law. The ab¬ 
sence of light alcoholic drinks has had an effect not 
to be smiled at. I wonder why doctors, surely men 
of learning and understanding, prescribe such stimu¬ 
lating drinks to their patients. Is it to further 
weaken their bodies and characters or to strengthen 
them?” 

“Yes, Sana, I know, we do not have the logic 
others have, or rather I should say, we have no logic 
at all. Common sense is thrown to the winds every 
four years during election campaigns and twice in 
the interim; therefore of what use is it to think? 
Seemingly a waste of time. Politicians, as well as 
others representing various interests, will state facts 


4 o 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


or untruths, for that matter, one day and contradict 
them the next just to suit their interests, so the peo¬ 
ple absolutely do not know where they stand. And 
when a final issue is to be decided, the rogues step 
in and find it very easy to lead the dear public by 
the nose. 

“Why, they do not even know the correct time,— 
our very clocks contradict themselves. Take the ten 
o’clock train, for instance. After running for five 
minutes in an effort to catch it, you find it is only a 
few minutes past nine or eleven. You see, it is all 
part of the game. The people must have no fixed 
ideas. Their minds must be as pliable as dough— 
to suit the interests. That is what they do not un¬ 
derstand, as yet, in other countries. But at the same 
time, the public must be told over and over again 
that they are the foremost and freest people on the 
face of the globe and that settles it, as sure as the 
‘amen’ in the church.” 

“And these persons, running things like that, get 
away with it?” 

“Yes, Sana, they do, but they are only so very few 
that the rest do not mind them. But should one 
mind them, he will be a ‘marked man,’ like Tom 
Lawson who exposed the frenzies of high finance 
in Wall Street in his famous novel ‘Friday the Thir- 


THE MOONSHINERS 


4i 


teenth.’ First they drove him from his large op¬ 
erations to smaller ones. Finally they ‘broke 1 him. 
The recent sale of his four million dollar estate 
‘Dreamwold 1 was the last of the tragedies of Law¬ 
son’s life. And the same tactics are used with others 
in political life. They get them in the long run, even 
if things have to be ‘framed,’ as many records show. 
I could tell you more, but I must not. Someone 
might overhear me and I would get myself in diffi¬ 
culties, even though proofs are available. They may 
do anything to you, but you must not get back at 
them, no matter how right you are. You know, it 
hurts their feelings to know the truth, but don’t ex¬ 
pect them to show any feeling for you. But to get 
back to the liquor question, Sana. I have several 
recipes with me, for very good drinks. I got them 
from the Duncans, friends of mine, you know. 
They have been making home-brew ever since the 
country went dry. The stuff they make is good and 
has a decided kick to it. I have had some several 
times at their home. I enjoy a good drink once in a 
while myself, you know. 

“I brought copies of the recipes with me. You 
never know who you might meet and it is always 
good to be able to compare notes.” 

Mrs. O’Brien, after searching a few minutes 


42 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


among the puffs, rouge boxes and other miscellany 
that filled her hand bag drew out two slips of paper 
which she handed to Sana. 

“Here they are, you may keep a copy. Might 
come in handy when your own country goes dry.” 

Sana looked at the papers for a moment, then 
commenced to read, “Peach Wine—one pound 
evaporated peaches, two pounds sugar ...” 

Mrs. O’Brien interrupted her with a hasty “Shh. 
Shh. Not so loud. It is against the law for people 
to know how to do things.” 

Sana laughed heartily as she cried, “Oh, es ist 
verboten!” 

She resumed her reading and having finished 
looked up with “So that is what the people make in 
order to get what the government doesn’t wish them 
to have?” 

“Yes. It’s good stuff—a peach of a drink. Read 
the other.” 

Sana did as she was told, then laughingly, “I see 
you people have found a good use for that onetime 
useless weed to serve the pressing need of the popu¬ 
lace. But, if I recall aright, I saw in the papers a 
few days ago that the government decided that even 
the poor defenceless dandelion came within the ban 
of the prohibition laws. Now that decision is being 
enforced I am sure that your law-abiding citizens 


THE MOONSHINERS 


43 

will see to the banishing of that innocent flower from 
the vacant lots.” 

“Yes, the question will be, who is first on the lot, 
I or my neighbor?” 

“Has the dandelion drink a strong kick, as you 
call it?” 

“A decided one. They tell me that one can get 
typsy and even ‘stewed’ on it, and were one to drink 
enough of it, he would be ‘soused,’ ” Mrs. O’Brien 
laughed. 

“Isn’t it funny? Pretty soon the government will 
order your people not to eat any apples, because, as 
you know, there are some people who become intoxi¬ 
cated on eating that fruit.” 

“That is so. I have seen many a time, as a child, 
in the country, a goat drunk from eating apples, and 
it would run around at full speed, ending up by but¬ 
ting its head into trees—much to my delight.” 

Sana, smiling in anticipation of her next remark, 
continued the subject, “I presume the prohibition 
law has got the ‘goat’ of many of your people.” 

“Yes, of those who cannot afford to lay in a 
stock now and then. Ten dollars a quart is a steep 
price. But as you can see from the recipes, there is 
a way around. As I said, I have often thought that 
many of our laws are purposely made to be evaded, 
so that the grafters can get their rake-off. We find 


44 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


ways to aid them. One thing is sure. The people 
are paying the piper and it has always been so in 
this country. Now, they have taken the sunshine 
out of our homes and let the moonshine in.” 

“I see. After all, you people do some scheming, 
it seems, to get some small liberties in spite of what 
seems to be, in reality an autocratic government. 
Now, that drinking even light alcoholic beverages is 
an offense, and something not to be tolerated, I sup¬ 
pose they will pass a law making it unconstitutional 
to indulge in tobacco. Then what will the people 
do?” 

“Do? Why, nothing, so far as eliminating the 
law is concerned, but as for obeying it—well, you 
know. The more the law is disregarded the bigger 
the graft, and the bigger the graft the more success¬ 
ful the law. But I really do not know what it will 
lead to. I guess you are right, and after they have 
taken care of our smoking, some hypocrite will at¬ 
tempt to do away with coffee and tea.” 

Sana laughed, “Well there would be more sense 
in that. Some people cannot sleep after drinking 
coffee, while a glass of good beer does much to in¬ 
duce sleep. The caffeine in coffee is a dope, while 
there is no nourishment in the drink itself. That 
could not be said of any malt beverage.” 

“Sana, you spoke of such things getting our 


THE MOONSHINERS 


45 


‘goat.’ That reminds me of a good story. I do not 
believe you know this, but my brother Pat was in the 
saloon business. He was quite prosperous, too, and 
a law abiding citizen in every respect of the word. 
He never did a mean trick in his life and was a re¬ 
spected member of our church. Then came prohi¬ 
bition—which by the way was rather a surprise to 
the returning soldiers. They had been wined in 
France, to their heart’s content, but when they re¬ 
turned to their own country they found they had 
criminal intentions if they tried to get a drink. 
Well, Pat went broke. He couldn’t be honest and 
make a living at the only trade he knew. And what 
made him so sore was that, as he expressed, the big¬ 
gest bootlegger put him out of business. You re¬ 
member that there was a time when dear England 
had her back against the wall and was crying to 
America for men and ships. It is a matter of his¬ 
tory as to how willingly and well we responded to 
that plea. Well, as a matter of gratitude, England, 
greatly against her will, allowed us to keep, for our¬ 
selves, a few former German vessels that had been 
tied up at our docks during the war—they were not 
allowed coal for quite some time prior to our enter¬ 
ing into the war so they didn’t get away. Well, we 
got those boats and, of course, we had the privilege 
of retaining and using the wooden boats we built 



46 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

during the war. That was about all we got for the 
billions of dollars we loaned and the thousands of 
lives that were lost on the fields of battle. And 
what good were those boats when we could not suc¬ 
cessfully cope with vessels flying the flags of other 
nations? That is where Uncle Sam turned bootleg¬ 
ger. The boats running under foreign registry car¬ 
ried liquor—that was the whole situation in a nut¬ 
shell. Americans would not travel on ‘dry’ boats 
when they could get liquor on others. So it came 
to pass that American vessels were allowed to carry 
liquors for the convenience of the passengers. And 
it was a good idea. It kept American money where 
it belongs—in America. 

“But it didn’t last for long. Complications arose 
so that Washington ruled that our American vessels 
must not have liquor aboard. 

“But while it did last, Uncle Sam was a bootleg¬ 
ger—serving the interests of a few—the ship own¬ 
ers, and Pat and the rest of us footed the bill, by 
paying heavier taxes to make up for the losses in¬ 
curred by the Government when the closing of the 
breweries, distilleries and saloons wiped out many 
millions of dollars income in the way of internal 
revenue. And making law breakers of honest 
citizens.” 


THE MOONSHINERS 


47 

“Why don’t the people protest against such re¬ 
actionary laws?” 

“Their ‘state of mind’ won’t allow them. It’s a 
case of follow the leader all the time. Why, in their 
treatment of their own neighbors this can be seen. 
Prior to the war, the Germans for instance, were 
credited as being a people possessed of sound logic; 
hard working, intelligent and above-board. The 
German-Americans in this country were respected as 
good citizens, hard workers, and held a high place 
in the esteem of their fellowmen. When the war 
came they did not change—it was our ‘state of mind’ 
that changed. Another case of follow the leader. 
Guided by a few we arose against them, abusing and 
accusing them shamefully. Every Tom, Dick and 
Harry felt self-ordained to search out their inner¬ 
most secrets. There was a perfect orgy of tale bear¬ 
ing and envious tattling. The police department of 
one city reported receiving as many as fifteen thou¬ 
sand letters in one day from people wishing to re¬ 
port actions of their neighbors. Actions and words 
that had passed unnoticed for years, were suddenly 
found to be treacherous. 

“And so it is with everything. The controlling 
caste makes one believe things—and if you believe 
it, it’s so. Barnum was right.” 

“Who was Barnum and what did he say?” 


48 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

“Barnum was an American circus man. He had 
been in the business for many years and in his con¬ 
tact with the American people he had learned to 
know them better than anyone else could have done. 
When asked the secret of his success in dealing with 
the American people, he summed up with the phrase, 
‘The people want to be fooled.’ And another 
American, a leading railroad man, said, ‘the public 
be damned!’ So, there you have it.” 

An hour or so more of inconsequential conversa¬ 
tion passed between the two women and the boat 
was docking at Albany. 

“Come, Sana,” urged Mrs. O’Brien, “let’s hurry 
to the hotel. We can get a bite to eat before Mr. 
O’Brien calls for us. And perhaps we can see 
whether this town is any drier than New York.” 

The hotel dining-room was quite crowded, and 
they noticed that there was more than the usual air 
of hilarity about the place. On several tables were 
what appeared to be—real highballs! 

This sight interested Mrs. O’Brien to such an ex¬ 
tent that when the waiter came for their order she 
remarked, “George—what kind of nice drink can 
we have?” 

“Well, we has ginger ale, lemonade, buttermilk— 
all what you sees on the card,” indicating the bev¬ 
erage list of the menu—“Yassum, all those.” 



THE MOONSHINERS 


49 


“But I mean something more substantial—some- 
thing like they have,” and she motioned with her 
head toward a party of women at a table nearby. 

“Oh, them there ladies done brought their own 
substantial.” 

“You mean in their hip pockets”—correcting her¬ 
self, “in their own flasks?” 

“Sure enough, ma’am—but . . .” 

“Ah, then you might be able to fix us up?” 

The waiter studied the two for a moment, then, 
assured that he could take a chance, replied, “Guess 
I can,” and prepared to go. 

Mrs. O’Brien halted him with “Good stuff, re¬ 
member, and some ginger ale.” 

“Good stuff is right, ma’am. Government goods, 
made before the war,” and he was gone. 

Shortly he returned with their food, a bottle of 
ginger ale and a small flask wrapped in a napkin. 
The latter he placed at the side of Mrs. O’Brien’s 
plate, and without further ado was away to attend 
to other duties. 

After pouring the contents of the flask, about a 
half pint, into their glasses, Mrs. O’Brien studied the 
label on the bottle and with a smile read “For medi¬ 
cinal purposes only.” “Yes, rye whiskey, bonded by 
the government about two months ago. You see 
what I mean by the ‘state of mind’?” 


50 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


During the meal, enlivened by the cheering cup, 
they heard snatches of the conversations of nearby 
diners. All were speaking of the liquor situation. 
One woman admitted that prior to the country going 
dry she never thought of drinking, now she couldn’t 
get enough. A man remarked that he and others, 
belonging to his club, were operating under pro¬ 
tection. 

When the check was presented Mrs. O’Brien 
noted that the whiskey was not charged for. But the 
waiter stood there with his hand resting on the 
table, three fingers pointed ceilingward—“Three 
dollars extra for the substantial.” 

The bill paid and the waiter gone, pleased with a 
generous tip, the two strolled about in the lobby. 

After a few minutes wait Mr. O’Brien put in 
appearance. 

Soon the three were seated in the Benz he had 
brought with him from Europe, and after taking 
Sana to see the State Capitol, they went spinning 
over the roads towards their lodge in the Catskill 
forests. 

The mountain life did Sana a world of good. 
M rs. O’Brien loved the outdoor life and would give 
Sana no rest. She would rout her out of bed early 
in the morning and the two would go for a tramp 
across hill and valley. Then again there would be a 


THE MOONSHINERS 


5i 


tennis game to be played, or a ride on horse back 
that could be put off no longer. Sana rode well, in 
fact her riding was the envy of all who saw her. 
Many a long ride was had over the picturesque 
mountain roads—down old Rip Van Winkle’s trail 
—down through the wonderfully beautiful Kaaters- 
kill Canyon, or over to Haines Falls, Tannersville 
and Prattsville, formerly the center of America’s 
tanning industry, and where today there stands a 
monument, just outside the village, dedicated to 
Pratt, the founder, in the form of a statue cut out 
of the living rock. 

So employed, the remaining summer days went all 
too fast for Sana, and the cold mountain days drew 
on. But with their coming returned all Sana’s 
youthful vigor and charm. Her face glowed with 
the wine of life and her eyes sparkled like winter 
stars. 

Before returning to New York the O’Briens took 
Sana to see Niagara Falls. “The greatest sight in 
the world,’’ chortled Mr. O’Brien, “and it’s Ameri¬ 
can.” And Sana agreed with him. 

Sana spent the winter with Mrs. O’Brien, a winter 
that sped quickly, broken up as it was with trips to 
Boston, Washington, Cleveland, Chicago and other 
American cities, as well as a protracted stay at At¬ 
lantic City—the year round pleasure resort. In this 


52 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


way Sana came to know America better than most 
Americans do in a lifetime. 

With the spring came a desire to return to Paris. 
Her friends did what they could to dissuade her, 
but to no avail. So reluctantly they consented. 

Mr. O’Brien insisted that the day before sailing 
be spent at Coney Island. Sana must see it, he told 
Mrs. O’Brien when she frowned down the sugges¬ 
tion. She knew that he was just as anxious for him¬ 
self as for Sana, but she at last consented—thankful, 
in her heart, that he had made the suggestion, be¬ 
cause it was years since she had been there and 
though she would not admit it, it was only her “state 
of mind” that kept her from going there before. 
But of course, he mustn’t know just how she felt 
about it. 

There was no happier crowd at the Island that 
day than their little party. They “shot the chutes” 
—got lost in the maze, and did all the things they 
thought they never would do—but that’s the spirit 
of the Island. In like spirit they joined the multi¬ 
tude in eating the famous “hot dog and sauerkraut,” 
or as Mr. O’Brien called it, “liberty cabbage.” He 
regretted this remark, because his better half broke 
in with “I suppose in the broadmindedness you have 
acquired since the war you call these frankfurters 
‘liberty dogs.’ Don’t you have enough liberties 


THE MOONSHINERS 


53 


forced down your throat without applying them to 
your food? Put some mustard on your liberties and 
the dogs will taste better.” 

The following day the O’Briens accompanied 
Sana to the steamship pier to say “goodbye.” 

Parting they exacted a promise that she would 
soon return to America and visit them. Readily 
Sana agreed, little dreaming of how the riddle of 
her life was to be solved by the Fates that guide us 
from the cradle to the grave. 


CHAPTER IV 


IN SPORTING EUROPE 

I T was evening when Sana arrived in Paris. 
The weary railroad trip from the seaboard had 
made her rather tired, so instead of looking 
around for less expensive accommodations she went 
at once to the Hotel Mercedes, facing the Place de 
l’Etoile. 

In her room, she spent the next hour or so remov¬ 
ing the stains of travel and then, fresh as a rose, 
set forth to satisfy the cravings of hunger that were 
making themselves quite apparent. She gave the 
hotel dining-room but a passing glance. No, that 
would not do. Paris already had her in its grip! 
She must seek gayety and refreshment. Ah! The 
very place. The Cafe de Paris. Here she would 
surely meet someone of past acquaintance. For the 
Cafe was noted for the pleasure it afforded and also 
for the excellence of the food. Some friend of hers 
would surely be there. 

Her assumptions proved correct. Hardly had 
she seated herself when a gentleman at an adjoining 


54 


IN SPORTING EUROPE 


55 

table spoke rather loudly, “Well, if it isn’t Made¬ 
moiselle Sana!” 

Sana turned her head and recognized the speaker 

as a Mr. Johns, an Englishman and a friend of the 

1 

head of the Companie le Developpement du Sahara. 
His companion was an elderly lady of distinct re¬ 
finement and apparent wealth. In response to his 
polite bow Sana smiled back “Bon soir!” 

Mr. Johns rose and came over to her table with 
an invitation to join his companion and himself at 
dinner. To this Sana gladly consented. 

Mr. Johns introduced his companion as the 
Princess Cassandra, adding in way of explanation, 
“Left Russia in time to escape the Soviets.” 

The Princess was sipping black coffee, evidently 
preparing to keep awake the coming night. This 
she made clear to Sana by saying that they had the 
entire night before them and intended to wind up 
at Maxim’s. When they invited her to go with them 
Sana, pretending fatigue, begged to be excused. 
But her pleas were useless; she must go, so she 
finally agreed. Her first night again in gay Paris! 

Finished dining, they left the Cafe and went to 
the Theatre Chatelet to see the Ballet. The per¬ 
formance ended, the party went slumming through 
the Latin quartier, eventually finding themselves^ 
about three in the morning, at Maxim’s. This was 


56 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

the place the Princess had been so anxious to see. 
Sana had been there before and knew what to ex¬ 
pect in the way of dancing, and feminine display. 

But all parties must come to an end, so the rosy 
fingered Dawn, tinting the east, finds Sana saying 
goodbye to her friends, a thoroughly tired but happy 
girl. 

Sana soon renewed the acquaintance of many old 
friends, but her stay in Paris was short. Too short 
perhaps to suit the many admirers of the lovely 
girl! The Princess Cassandra had been attracted to 
the girl from the start and after much urging she 
secured Sana’s consent to accompany her as a com¬ 
panion on a tour of the continent. 

Together they visited the great cities and famous 
resorts. Delighted as she was with the companion¬ 
ship of the girl, Cassandra gained in another direc¬ 
tion. Sana proved a great attraction to the younger 
aristocrats of the places they visited. And it is eas¬ 
ily seen that with such a host of admirers at Sana’s 
beck and call, it was hardly possible that some of 
them should not fall to the lot of the Princess, even 
though it be considered charity on the part of the 
man. 

Wealth alone does not draw in circles of their 
kind, and Cassandra, still beautiful for her age, rec¬ 
ognized the advantages of having Sana at her side. 


IN SPORTING EUROPE 


57 

It was the philosophy of a homely woman making 
it her business to associate with a beautiful and 
charming girl. She might be left out of the play 
once in a while—when but one attendant was at 
hand. But when more than one put in an appear¬ 
ance she had the chances which, otherwise, she 
would never get. Many a mother with a marriage¬ 
able daughter plays this role and not unconsciously. 
One seldom finds the grouchy, business-worn hus¬ 
band on the scene. 

But regardless of the Princess’ aims, these new 
associations brought Sana recreation and forgetful¬ 
ness of the past. 

It was a daily experience of Sana’s to make new 
friends. Hers was a beauty and charm that none 
could resist. And few, if any, made any serious at¬ 
tempt to keep on resisting! 

At Monte Carlo—that haven of chance, that has 
seen the birth of so many romances and their death, 
Sana met Count von Sarnoff, a nephew of the Prin¬ 
cess. Von Sarnoff was nothing more or less than a 
sporting lounge-lizard, ever ready to call the tune 
but never willing to pay the piper. 

With him it was a case of love at first sight. 
Sana, however, was in no mood to respond to his 
protestations of sincere love. Too bitterly disas- 


58 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

trous had been the result of her first love and too 
fresh her memory of it. 

Von Sarnoff, however, was not to be put off so 
easily. He kept continually showering her with 
messages of his affection, voicing his sentiments in 
ardent notes, accompanied by exquisite bouquets and 
rare gifts. He gave, with the moneyed aid of his 
aunt, the Princess, a series of elaborate entertain¬ 
ments in Sana’s honor. Persistent as he was in his 
effort to win her love, his determination availed 
nothing. 

One evening, as he knelt at her feet, holding her 
hand, Sana unburdened herself of her true feelings. 

“As much as I admire you, my dear boy,” she 
said earnestly, “I could not think of marriage. I 
want to be free, and after all, I do not care a great 
deal for this gay life.” 

He broke in, pleadingly, “But, Sana, we can give 
up this sort of life and return to my estates in Rus¬ 
sia to live a quiet life.” 

“Live quietly in Russia!” Sana smiled, “you pro¬ 
pose the impossible! Are not the Bolshevists after 
your very skin and did you not flee for your life? 
Were not your estates taken away? And now you 
propose to take me to that very place!” 

“Do not treat the matter lightly, my beloved. 


IN SPORTING EUROPE 


59 

Come with me, my queen. My parents will be only 
too delighted to receive you as their daughter.” 

“But what would your aunt say of your inten¬ 
tions? I do not think she would approve of them.” 

“Of course not. She would miss your charming 
companionship.” 

“It is better, Sarnoff, that you forget me.” 

“On account of my aunt?” 

“No,” Sana said, rather hesitatingly. 

“Why, then? For what reason? Do you not 
like me a little bit,” he pleaded, peering at her with 
anxious eyes. 

Sana, shaking her head, responded to the last 
question with “Yes, I do. But not enough to marry 
vou.” 

“Then let me teach you how,” he acclaimed 
eagerly. 

“I can readily believe you to be an excellent 
teacher in that respect, but your efforts would be 
useless.” 

Anxiously, “Are you in love with someone else? 
Tell me.” 

“Oh, no. I thought your aunt had told you. . . .” 

Von Sarnoff interrupted her quickly. “No. I 
only know that she does not want me to take you 
away as that would mean her loss of you, dearest.” 


6 o 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


He pressed his lips to her hand, murmuring, 
“Dearest, dearest.” 

Sana withdrew her hand and attempting to rise, 
said “Come, Sarnoff, it is getting late. You must 
go.” 

“I will, if you give me hope,” he begged, unstead¬ 
ily getting on his feet. 

“I shall soon leave this place.” Sana rose from 
her chair and turned away. 

Von Sarnoff was at her side in an instant, crying 
in hurt surprise, “What, Sana, you are going to 
leave me?” 

“Yes. Tomorrow, your aunt and I leave for 
Baden-Baden.” 

“Positively?” 

“Positively!” 

“Then I shall see you there later. But now kiss 
your ‘little boy’ goodbye.” 

Before Sana could realize it, or do anything to 
stop him, he held her tight in his arms, madly kissing 
her lips, forehead and hair. 

Wrenching herself free Sana turned on him, a 
dangerous light flashing in her eyes, “I am not ac¬ 
customed to that, Count von Sarnoff. I am no 
courtesan!” 

Swiftly she crossed the room, returning with his 
hat and cane, which she tendered to him, with an icy 


IN SPORTING EUROPE 61 

“Good night.” Her manner plainly showed her 
contempt for his rashness. 

Bowing low, von Sarnoff, even then dared kiss her 
hand, saying softly “Auf Wiedersehen,” to which 
Sana had not the heart to reply. 

True to her word, Sana and the Princess Cassan¬ 
dra left the following morning for Baden-Baden, 
Sana noting gladly that von Sarnoff was not at the 
station to say “goodbye.” 

Arriving at Baden-Baden they engaged rooms at 
the Hotel Stephanie, on the right bank of the Oos. 
Sana was fairly enchanted by this gorgeous hostelry, 
surrounded with its beautiful gardens and directly 
opposite the Lichtentaler-Allee. It was a fairyland, 
the playground of the wealth of Europe. 

Princess Cassandra had many acquaintances there, 
and now, accompanied by the charming Sana, she 
was more popular than ever. Immediately she and 
Sana were in the midst of the social whirl. No din¬ 
ner party or other function was complete without 
their presence. 

A week, the days and nights of which were a con¬ 
tinual round of pleasure, passed before von Sarnoff 
put in an appearance. Sana was at dinner among 
a group of friends, when he was announced. Join¬ 
ing the party he proved the gayest of the gay. But 
his eyes were constantly upon Sana. He noted her 


62 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


every word—her every act. He managed that eve¬ 
ning to offer an apology for his rudeness and Sana, 
believing him to be sincere, forgave him. 

Again she became the target of his amorous at¬ 
tentions. His determination seemed fired anew. 
He catered to her every whim—made a slave of 
himself, but pressing his suit all the while. 

A few days later, to cap the climax, he gave a 
dinner in her honor. It was one of the most exotic 
revels ever held at the resort and that is saying a 
great deal. 

At this private banquet he made violent love to 
her. Piqued somewhat at her constant refusal to 
entertain his suit, and encouraged, too, by the wine 
he had consumed von Sarnoff kneeling at her side, 
suddenly reached down, grasped one of Sana’s tiny 
feet and quickly removed the jewel encrusted slip¬ 
per. Rising to his feet, rather shakily, it is true, he 
filled the slipper with champagne, and holding it 
aloft in one hand, the other sweeping over the select 
assembly, he cried, “To the health of Sana, the 
Queen of Queens.” Then amid the cheers of the 
diners, he drank from the slipper. 

Around them a group of professional dancers, 
scantily attired, were performing risque solo dances, 
but von Sarnoff, sensual though he was, had no eyes 
for their display. But like Herod of old begging 



The eager von Sarnoff grasped the shimmering garment, buried 
his face into its perfumed folds and looked up with eyes of lust 
and passion. 


63 

































64 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

Salome to dance, he pleaded with Sana to give them 
an exhibition of her dancing art. What tempestuous 
thoughts ran through her mind, one cannot tell, but 
with a wild laugh and the cry “I will” Sana sprang 
up on the table, and kicking off the remaining slipper 
sent it flying across the room. Her dinner gown was 
too long to allow of much freedom, so with deft 
hands she lowered the shoulder straps and cast it off. 
The eager Sarnoff grasped the shimmering garment, 
buried his face into its perfumed folds, and looking 
up with eyes full of lust and passion shouted, “This 
is the dance of the virtuous vampire.” 

Sana was dancing the dance de Rochelle had 
taught her while under his hypnotic influence. Wild 
and free! It spoke of desert nights and starry skies; 
of whispering winds and silent places. A dance of 
beauty. Suddenly she ceased dancing. The fire had 
died down. The coaxing, passionate creature was 
gone, and in its place stood just a girl. 

Springing from the table, she demanded her dress. 
With a mocking laugh von Sarnoff sprang aside, 
crying “No. I shall keep it always as a souvenir of 
passion’s maddest moment.” 

With a look of supreme disgust at the laughing 
guests, Sana pulled the cloth off an adjoining table, 
regardless of the flying dishes and silver, and wrap¬ 
ping it about her body, fled from the room, followed 


IN SPORTING EUROPE 65 

by von Sarnoff, pouring forth words of endearment 
and affection. 

Rushing to her rooms, she slammed the door in 
his face with a cry that bespoke the agony in her 
heart, “Keep away! I hate you!” 

That night, counseled by heads wiser than his 
own, von Sarnoff left the place. 

• •••••• 

Among Sana’s various friends at the Stephanie 
was Herr Heinecke, a young German engineer. 

Heinecke was combining business with pleasure 
during his stay at the hotel. He had been sent to 
Baden-Baden to supervise an electrical development 
in the suburbs of the city, and took advantage of 
the opportunity to partake of the baths, the efficacy 
of whose waters are known the world over—in fact 
the Romans were aware of it, in the days that are 
gone, and spoke of the waters as Aquae Aurelias. 

But the waters and his work were not the only 
things to occupy his thoughts. There was Sana. If 
one could question his mind or seek out the inner¬ 
most regions of his heart, Sana would loom up high 
above even his work. His work could be neglected, 
he reasoned with his conscience, but not Sana. She 
could not, would not be neglected. 

Even though she had already refused his offer of 
marriage he was determined to win her. 


66 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


Sana and he were at the Hotel Messmer, one 
afternoon, enjoying the music and refreshments, 
which were delightful. The hotel was a favored re¬ 
sort and attracted a large number of noblemen and 
people of wealth. 

Heinecke had just asked Sana a second time for 
her hand when she felt a strange sensation stealing 
over her. It was as if some power were seeking to 
enter her mind and control her body. Against her 
will she turned her head to look behind her. For a 
moment she stared in amazement. Her breath came 
in gasps. She sank back in her chair as though on 
the point of fainting, then finding her voice she 
shrieked u de Rochelle!” 

It was but too true. There at a table a few steps 
away sat de Rochelle, as forbidding as ever. He 
had seen her with Heinecke and resorting to the 
powers he had exercised of old, he concentrated his 
mind upon hers, while staring at the back of her 
head, thus drawing her attention to him. 

Heinecke, who was somewhat upset by this 
strange and unaccountable state of affairs, ques¬ 
tioned Sana as to the cause. As briefly as possible 
and in a low trembling tone, Sana answered, “That 
man, the fourth table over, is Francois de Rochelle, 
who was once my sweetheart. He possesses a 
strange hypnotic influence over me and may cause 


IN SPORTING EUROPE 67 

me to commit rash acts. Even now I feel his power 
and I am afraid.” 

Sana’s companion looked over to de Rochelle, 
who did not once take his eyes from the girl, al¬ 
though he was aware that Heinecke was watching 
him. This attitude made even the phlegmatic 
Heinecke furious. As in the days when he was a 
member of a student’s corps, he was ready to fight 
a duel at a moment’s notice—the three scars on his 
right cheek bore mute testimony to this spirit of 
younger days. So calling a waiter he sent his card 
to de Rochelle. 

Rochelle well knew the intent of that action. He 
picked up the card, looked at it and with a sneering 
laugh, tore it into bits, tossing the scraps of paste¬ 
board back on the salver, in such a way that there 
was no mistaking his meaning. 

Heinecke could only stare, muttering to himself, 
“No satisfaction to be had. Too bad.” 

Sana was eager to get away from de Rochelle, 
from the hotel, from everybody, so hurriedly taking 
Heinecke by the arm, she fairly dragged him away, 
saying, for want of something better, “Now, look at 
what you have done!” 

From the time that Sana had been carried uncon¬ 
scious from the morgue, in New York, to the hour 
of her departure for Europe Sana had been under 


68 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

the constant care of Dr. White and the O’Briens 
and they had purposely withheld from her the news 
that the body that had been found in the river was 
not that of de Rochelle. A newspaper reporter, 
who was at the scene of the drowning when the body 
was recovered, took it upon himself to say that the 
man was de Rochelle. Some cards and papers had 
been found on the body bearing the name of “Fran¬ 
cois de Rochelle,’’ so it was as a “Frangois de 
Rochelle” that the man was buried. As a matter 
of fact it developed a few days later that the suicide 
was a young bank clerk, who, with de Rochelle, had 
speculated heavily with part of the funds raised for 
the purpose of carrying out the work of the Sahara 
Development Organization. Things had gone 
wrong on the market that day and the clerk had 
called on de Rochelle, with a view to securing some 
money to cover their margins. De Rochelle was not 
to be found, but on the table lay a note, addressed 
to Sana, in which he stated that he had been discov¬ 
ered at last. He was going away forever. He 
asked her, also, to tell the bank clerk of his leaving. 

The clerk, believing at once that de Rochelle was 
referring to his shady dealings on the Street, in his 
note to Sana, set about to destroy the note upon the 
radiator. He had been equally guilty in these money 
matters and wanted to hide his trail as much as pos- 


IN SPORTING EUROPE 


69 

sible. It was while crossing the Bridge that his 
mind, haunted by the fear of possible consequences, 
gave way and he took the fatal leap. 

Once more had Fate thrown Sana and de Rochelle 
together. To the girl it meant grave dangers and 
misery. In the silence of her apartment she deter¬ 
mined to leave the place—secretly if necessary. 
Slipping quietly down to the lobby of the hotel, she 
dispatched a message to her mother, announcing her 
intention to come home. Sana realized what she 
would have to sacrifice, but nothing counted. She 
only wanted to get away, far away from de Rochelle. 

The following day, about noon, Sana was cross¬ 
ing the gardens at the Kurhaus, where hundreds 
were promenading and listening to the band. She 
had been shopping, purchasing little odds and ends, 
among them gifts for her mother. 

Suddenly a hand was placed upon her arm. 
Frightened she turned to confront de Rochelle. She 
tried to evade him, but he only grasped her arm 
more tightly so that escape was impossible. In a 
low, but not unkindly tone, de Rochelle spoke, ask¬ 
ing her to join him at lunch at the Messmer. Sana 
refused and while he was insisting upon her doing 
so, aid came in the form of ITeinecke. 

A few curt words from him placed de Rochelle 
on the defensive. An instance later, however, 



UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


70 

Heinecke had taken his glove and struck de Ro¬ 
chelle across the face. Taking Sana’s arm he 
walked off, leaving the furious de Rochelle, whose 
face had turned to ashen gray, to cry, “You will 
meet me?” 

Heinecke turned, drew himself up to full height 
and with a stiff bow, retorted, “I am at your 
service!” 

The next morning, before Heinecke had arisen, 
a knock was heard at his door. The seconds of de 
Rochelle were announced. They had come to in¬ 
form him that de Rochelle was the insulted one 
and that he was exercising his privilege of choosing 
weapons. He had decided upon pistols, shots to be 
exchanged until one or the other fell. 

Had Heinecke the option he would have chosen 
the sabre of his student days, that being his favorite 
weapon. However, he was not afraid. His army 
training had taught him the use of a pistol, and in 
his heart he was sure that this affair would certainly 
win Sana. 

Sana, however, on hearing of the coming duel, 
sought Heinecke and begged him to desist, saying 
“de Rochelle is an expert in the use of a pistol. I 
have seen him sever a telephone cord at twenty paces 
and hit a plum I had thrown into the air.” 

To which entreaties Heinecke replied, with a 


IN SPORTING EUROPE 


7 1 


shrug of his shoulders, “This is an affair of honor.” 

The next morning, the two duelists, with their 
seconds and a doctor, went to a secluded section of 
the Black Forest, about an hour’s ride from the 
resort. The day was bright and the cleared spot 
in the forest, where blood would flow and probably 
a life be sacrificed, had been well chosen by the sec¬ 
onds the preceding day. 

The preliminaries over, the two men took their 
stand, facing each other at fifteen paces. Pistols 
were leveled. They awaited the word to fire— 
Heinecke cool and determined, de Rochelle perhaps 
equally determined but rather shaky, having spent 
the previous evening drinking champagne in celebra¬ 
tion of the coming duel. 

Sana was up before daybreak that morning. 
When Heinecke left, she followed in an automobile, 
at a distance, so as not to arouse suspicion. At a 
road crossing she had lost track of Heinecke’s car, 
but shortly afterward discovered it, and another, 
parked by the roadside. She ordered the chauffeur 
to stop the car, jumping from it before it had come 
to a standstill. 

As she did so, she heard two shots ring out simul¬ 
taneously, echoing and re-echoing through the silent 
forest. In feverish haste she ran in the direction 
from whence the sound had come. Another deafen- 


72 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


ing report vibrated the morning air. Turning aside, 
Sana came upon the clearing. The two combatants 
still held their ground, while the seconds were re¬ 
loading the pistols. The weapons again in their 
hands, ITeinecke and de Rochelle renewed the com¬ 
bat. As they leveled the pistols, Sana wanted to cry 
out, but running forward blindly, stumbled and fell. 
As she arose, she heard the word “Three” and look¬ 
ing up saw the flash of the shots. To her horror, 
she saw one of the men, she could not tell which, 
waver and sink helpless to the earth. 

“Oh, God!” The words came in a quivering cry. 
Because of her, a woman, a man had just fallen 
wounded, perhaps dead. 

At the cry a man stepped forward. It was 
Heinecke. He pointed in the direction of de Ro¬ 
chelle, who, badly wounded in the right shoulder, was 
being attended by the doctor. 

Sana looked at the fallen man. Then came re¬ 
action. With a withering look of scorn, and un¬ 
mindful of Heinecke’s outstretched hand, she up^ 
braided him, “Shame unto you! You have soiled 
your hands and stained your soul with the blood of 
a creature not worthy of the bullet you fired into 
him!” 

Heinecke looked at the girl in a strange, curious 
way, then looking toward de Rochelle, he spoke in 



At her cry he stepped forward, pointing in the direction of de 
Rochelle, who, badly wounded in the right shoulder, was being 
attended by the doctor. 


73 























































































































74 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


a low and somewhat sad tone, “If it had not been 
for his coming, you might have been mine by this 
time. I feel like putting this man out of your way 
and life forever. Leave me—for a while at least.” 

Sana, realizing his desire, did not move, but whis¬ 
pered beseechingly, “Heinecke, I implore you, stop! 

I do not love you, so why risk your life for me? 
Consider, please.” 

Her plea was in vain. Heinecke, changing his 
tone of voice and manner, commanded her to leave. 
Upon her refusing to do so, he attempted to gently 
lead her away, when the mocking voice of de Ro¬ 
chelle reached them. He had gotten to his feet. 

“Here! Herr Heinecke!” The words came 
with a sneer. “You shall not hide behind a woman’s 
skirts. Stand your ground, you coward!” 

With this he grasped the pistol his second had 
reloaded and aimed it at Heinecke. 

His sneering laugh chilled Sana’s blood as he con¬ 
tinued, “Come back. I will kill you like a dog in this 
woman’s presence.” 

Heinecke, with a shrug of the shoulders, awaited 
the shot. 

De Rochelle had barely time to pull the trigger 
when the gun was wrested from his hand. Two 
men had jumped from the brush behind him and 
were now holding him a prisoner. De Rochelle de- 



IN SPORTING EUROPE 


75 


manding an explanation of what he termed “an out¬ 
rage,” was politely informed that he was under ar¬ 
rest and was shown a warrant as their authority. 

The sight of this caused Sana to give a sigh of 
relief. Her plan had worked! 

After Heinecke had told her of the proposed duel, 
Sana finding her pleas of no avail, sought to prevent 
the combat in another manner. She, of course, had 
been informed on her return to Paris of the manner 
in which de Rochelle had run the affairs of the com¬ 
pany he represented in New York. She knew, too, 
just how much of the company’s money he had ap¬ 
propriated for his own uses. So with this knowl¬ 
edge in mind she went to one of those detective 
agencies, to be found the world over, where “hard 
cash” is a means to an end and placed her proposi¬ 
tion before them. Yes, it could be done! They 
would do anything for a consideration. 

Accordingly two of the firm’s hirelings trailed de 
Rochelle that morning, armed with a fake warrant 
calling for his arrest and extradition to France, to 
answer charges of embezzlement. They had ar¬ 
rived on the scene a little late, but, nevertheless, in 
time. 

Turning to Sana, de Rochelle addressed her, with 
supreme sarcasm, “You have done a noble thing. 
Noble indeed! To save your lover you have be- 


76 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

trayed me. But wait. My love for you has gone. 
Insatiable hate has taken its place. As I have 
adored you in the past, so do I despise you now! 
I shall be free again, and I assure you, by God, that 
the day shall come when you will lie before me pros¬ 
trate and pleading. And all your pleading shall be 
in vain! 

Raising his voice until it fairly shrieked at them 
he added, “You shall go down with me! It may 
take time, but I shall get even with you!” 

Heinecke was about to spring forward, but Sana 
restrained him with “Please don’t.” 

To which Heinecke replied, his lips twitching with 
scorn, “I’m sorry I couldn’t finish the job.” 


That evening, leaving notes for her friends, the 
Princess Cassandra and Heinecke, Sana secretly left 
the gay watering-place to go home. 


CHAPTER V 


THE GREAT DESERT 


T HE plan for flooding the Sahara, as fostered 
by the French Government, attracted wide¬ 
spread attention. Even in America, accus¬ 
tomed as it is to great engineering undertakings, the 
plan created a great deal of interest, much of it 
critical. 

Among the Americans to challenge the proposed 
work was Carl Lohman, a New York engineer and 
writer of international reputation. Lohman counted 
among his friends the foremost editors, men whose 
fearless pens are watched the world over by finan¬ 
ciers and politicians. The pages of the daily press 
were open to him and in them he attacked the plan. 

So thorough was he in his attacks and criticisms 
that the French authorities invited him to submit al¬ 
ternative plans. To this end, Lohman left for the 
Sahara on an inspection tour, arriving at the Gulf 
of Gabes, on the Mediterranean Sea, where the 
canal was to be built. 

Here he met the pilot who was to lead him over 


77 


78 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


the desert to study the territory at close range. 
After studying the canal site, on horse back, for a 
few days, they boarded an aeroplane, which was 
well provisioned, and soon they were flying over vast 
stretches of sand. They made wide detours, in their 
flight, so as to get a more general view of the situ¬ 
ation. Finally they turned southward to reach Tim- 
buktoo on the Niger river. 

Two nights were spent on well selected ground. 
On the third day they came to the Queen City of the 
Sahara, Timbuktoo, where they intended replenish¬ 
ing their gasoline supply, and thus be able to return 
to the Mediterranean coast. 

During the entire flight Carl was busy making co¬ 
pious notes to be used in connection with his plans 
on his return to America. 

Carl was proud of his mission. And rightly so. 
The son of a New York banker, with the advan¬ 
tages of a family name and all that wealth could 
buy, he had spurned them, rising in his profession 
solely by his own ability and perseverance. 

His college days over, Carl had gone to San Fran¬ 
cisco. Here he secured employment with an engi¬ 
neering concern engaged in extensive hydraulic and 
land irrigating developments. A few years of this 
work and he returned to New York, where he joined 
an efficiency engineering firm. Here, too, he showed 


THE GREAT DESERT 


79 


his ability. By his methods of handling material in 
various manufacturing plants much money was saved 
and with greater efficiency. Electric stations, he 
proved, could be operated at less cost, while in the 
field of street lighting, several cities benefited by his 
knowledge, securing better light and at a great sav¬ 
ing to the municipality and the electric power 
companies. 

Carl recognized as his greatest asset the teachings 
of his parents. From childhood he had been taught 
by them the virtue of “Economy and Efficiency.” 
It had been their watchword through life and he was 
determined that it should be his. Not alone to him¬ 
self but to those who came to him for advice did he 
preach this doctrine. 

His books and numerous scientific publications, 
too, brought home to the reader the value of those 
two words. Before establishing himself in a busi¬ 
ness of his own, he widened his field of activity, go¬ 
ing to the Charlottenburg University to study city 
planning and its kindred subject, municipal engineer¬ 
ing. Charlottenburg was the only college teaching 
these subjects, although German cities, for the past 
two generations, have been practicing the art in con¬ 
nection with municipal improvements. 

His studies took him on extensive trips over Eu¬ 
rope to study the art of the great masters Sitte, 


8 o 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


Stuebben, Baumeister, Hausmann and others. He 
visited the medieval cities of Nuremberg, Rothen- 
burg, Regensburg and others, all of which showed 
that the Romans, who laid the original foundations 
of these cities, had certain definite knowledge of city 
planning. However, these early city planners did 
not impart their theory but left only their accom¬ 
plishments as a record of their work. It remained 
for the Germans to place the art of city planning on 
a scientific basis, and realizing the great benefits de¬ 
rived, other countries fell into line, following the 
system established by the Germans. 

During his travels Carl did not fail to visit the 
ancient Roman and Greek cities, where the remains 
of once great structures and roadways testify to the 
skill of the city builders. 

While L’Enfant, who planned the city of Wash¬ 
ington, admittedly the most beautiful city of Amer¬ 
ica and one of the finest in the world, enjoyed the 
double good fortune of having the support of the 
founders of the Republic and an unencumbered site 
upon which to build, the problem in most cases today 
is to replace existing cities and provide for future 
developments. 

Upon his return to America, Carl located in New 
York, opening an office as consulting engineer and 
advisory city planner. He applied his knowledge 


THE GREAT DESERT 


81 


to getting u hard cash,” but he very often worked 
for little or no compensation. It did not matter to 
him—all he wanted to see was the ultimate result. 

His reputation as a successful engineer and writer 
became widespread, with the result that he was be¬ 
sieged from all sides with requests to engage in in¬ 
dustrial campaigns and the like. Quite a number of 
concerns owe to him and his writings the fact that 
they got out of the rut and were able to re-establish 
themselves on a sound financial basis. 

To him, also, came concerns with shady reputa¬ 
tions in the hope that he would lend the weight of 
his name to their prospectuses. But they were po¬ 
litely requested to seek such assistance elsewhere. 

But city planning was his forte. It appealed to 
him as did no other work. He recognized the 
great opportunity for the replanning of American 
cities, so long neglected with such costly results as 
are seen in the unnecessary congestion and crowded 
conditions of some portions and the backward de¬ 
velopment of others—in the slums on one hand 
and the inaccessible suburbs on the others—so char¬ 
acteristic of the majority of our cities. 

The citizens of a small town never imagine that 
it will become a large city. They may, at times, 
dream of it as spreading out around the nucleus in 
which they live and they may frequently boast of the 




82 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


progress their town has made in the previous decade, 
but the day that will see their town a great city 
seems so far distant that, as a rule, they do not 
imagine it will ever occur. 

Time slips quickly by and the sites for great im¬ 
provements, which might have been laid out and re¬ 
served for convenient plans, that only need to be 
committed to paper, become impossible save at enor¬ 
mous and prohibitive expense. It thus happens that 
many cities, expanded over ground that once w r as 
made up of farms, have street plans originally de¬ 
termined by the fancy of the home-wandering cow 
and her calf. But great volumes of traffic must in¬ 
evitably follow the path marked out by these dumb 
animals, unless costly changes be made. 

Carl was aware of the great importance, to cities 
large and small, of having plans prepared by experts 
to serve as a guide for the gradual development of 
the city on a scientific basis. 

Since engaging in such work, Carl had received 
many contracts for planning new towns and remod¬ 
eling old cities. Besides he did considerable work 
along electrical lines. His spare time was occupied 
in writing books and contributing articles on city 
planning, industrial efficiency and national economy, 
to various newspapers and magazines. Carl was 
recognized as a man of great versatility. His pres- 


THE GREAT DESERT 


83 

tige as an authority in his profession rose rapidly 
and his absorbing interest in his work caused many 
complaints from old acquaintances who still felt the 
lure of Broadway. 

With a sudden jar he was shaken out of his men¬ 
tal dream as to his own importance. The aeroplane, 
in landing at the outskirts of Timbuktoo, struck a 
sand dune and was damaged considerably, and its 
occupants badly shaken up, although not seriously 
injured. 

They climbed from their seats and while the pilot 
looked after his aeroplane, Carl stood on the fringe 
of the Great Desert, wondering how he would solve 
that vast problem of so world-wide a character. He 
felt the importance of his mission. The realization 
came to him that his work would have a unique in¬ 
fluence on the world. Its welfare he held in his 
hand. 

He had done important work before. But now! 
Alone he could move the world—change the great 
laws of nature! He could create a new land or de¬ 
stroy an old one. He could do this—he—Carl 
Lohman! Was it to be wondered that his bosom 
heaved with emotion as he gazed out over the end¬ 
less barren wastes, which, at his command, could be 
tnade to blossom with the fullness of the Earth’s 
fruits. 



84 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

How true, he thought, the saying “Knowledge is 
Power.” That phrase answered the questions in his 
mind. Yes, his knowledge would bring it about. 

A mental picture came to him, like a fata mor¬ 
gana, a mirage of the desert, reflected high in the 
heavens. A picture of the day to come. 

This picture, however, came to an abrupt end. 
The pilot, who had been endeavoring to repair the 
damaged aeroplane, had come up to Carl, saying* 
“The damage to the engine is too great to be re¬ 
paired here. What are we going to do now?” 

“I have been thinking of that. I think we should 
go by camel to the north and have some fun.” 

The other smiled “Fun? Fun you will get all right 
if you should ever fall into the hands of the bandit 
tribes that infest the sands. I know them. During 
the war I was handled rather roughly by them in 
France, although I was no enemy of theirs. They 
had been forced into the fight and they wanted to 
be savage. And they knew how. You talk about 
the Turk. He was nothing compared to them. At 
least the Turk was fighting for his country—these 
just fought for the sake of killing. They would 
have put an end to me, had not help come in time.” 

“All right! We can talk matters over tomorrow. 
Let’s find a hotel, if there is one, where we can get 
a bite to eat. Em starving.” 



THE GREAT DESERT 


85 


The pilot rejoined, “All right, so am I.” 

The aeroplane had landed but a short distance 
from the city and it had already attracted a host of 
bewildered people. They had never seen an aero¬ 
plane before, so on they came, old and young, black 
and white, to examine the strange monster from the 
sky. No less strange to them appeared the two men 
who had come with it. In language unknown to 
Carl, they pointed from the machine to the men, 
showing plainly their awe and fear. 

A French army officer came up to Carl and ques¬ 
tioned him as to the accident, but Carl could only 
refer him to the pilot, who had returned to the 
wrecked machine, the motley mob scattering to all 
sides at his approach. 

After the pilot had secured all that was likely to 
fall prey to the thieving fingers of the crowd—the 
Arabs and their kin are born thieves—he and Carl 
set out for the hotel to which the officer had directed 
them. 

As they approached the hotel, the proprietor, a 
shifty-looking Arabian-Jew, stepped out to greet 
them with a great show of welcome and a greater 
anticipation of gain. 

Carl had learned from his pilot that caravans left 
very seldom and at irregular intervals for the north, 
because of the unexplored conditions of the desert 




86 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


and of the still greater danger of being beset by the 
roaming bands of bandits, who ever lay in wait for 
caravans of merchants. 

He came to the conclusion, therefore, after study¬ 
ing his maps, that he had best secure an automobile 
to take him to Bammurka, from which point he 
could take the railroad to St. Louis or Dakar on the 
Atlantic coast. From there he could get passage to 
New York, while his pilot could easily return by 
water to Algeria. This meant a tedious journey of 
some five hundred miles, by automobile, down the 
Niger and Joliba rivers, but it appeared the most 
feasible plan. 

He questioned the hotel keeper as to the pros¬ 
pects of securing an automobile and to his regret 
was told that such a thing was out of the question. 
There were a few automobiles to be sure, but there 
was not enough gasoline in Timbuktoo at that time 
to last half the trip. In fact every one of the ma¬ 
chines was useless because of this scarcity of fuel. 
Carl recalled, too, that they had been forced to land 
the aeroplane because the gasoline supply was get¬ 
ting low. 

“Why not go by caravan?” he was asked. 

“Caravan? When?” Carl questioned. This was 
more to his liking. 

“Three days from now. Thursday morning. 


THE GREAT DESERT 


87 

Yesterday a tourist party came in. They had made 
arrangements months ago for a special caravan 
from here to Mogador. You can join them. It 
could easily be arranged.” 

Carl voiced his thanks with a bit of silver. 

The Jew added, “They will be here tonight at 
seven. I will tell them you wish to meet them. By 
the way,” his eyes glinting craftily, “there will be an 
entertainment tonight for these travelers. Do not 
miss it. It will be worth your while.” 

Arrangements to join the caravan were easily 
made. The tourists, after hearing his story, read¬ 
ily consented to his request to be allowed to accom¬ 
pany them. In fact they wanted him to come. He 
had seen the desert from aeroplane and could tell 
them more about it than even the guides. 

After a short chat, during which the success of the 
journey was toasted by Carl, he excused himself and 
went to his room to write the following report to 
the New York newspapers. 

“I find that there are no great difficulties to be 
encountered in building the canal, which has to be 
about fifty miles long. The waters of the sea, com¬ 
ing through this canal would flood an immense area, 
forming a great inland sea. The canal could be 
made sufficiently large to permit the passage of 
ocean steamers through it into the inland waters. 


88 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


“While there is a possibility of the canal being 
silted up with dune sand, it is estimated that it would 
take from 1,000 to 1,500 years for this to occur. 

“The cost of the canal would he at least $100,- 
000,000, and it would take five years or longer to 
build it. Laborers could be drawn from the inte¬ 
rior tribes, such as Senegals, Moroccans, Algerians 
and Turcoes. 

“The Gulf of Gabes is separated by a ridge some 
forty feet across and perhaps one hundred and fifty 
feet high, from Shat-al Fejej, a depression which 
runs southwest into the Shat Jerid, which, in turn, 
is separated from the Shat Garsa only by a still nar¬ 
rower ridge. Shat Garsa is succeeded westward by 
a series of smaller depressions and beyond them lies 
the Shat Melrir, whose northwestern extremity is 
not far from the town of Biskra, a favorite winter 
resort of North Africa. 

“The original author of this scheme to flood the 
Sahara was Colonel Francois Roudaire, who pro¬ 
posed it some fifty years ago to the French Govern¬ 
ment. Roudaire’s plan was strongly advocated be¬ 
tween 1870 and 1885, receiving support from Fer¬ 
dinand de Lesseps, the French builder of the Suez 
Canal, now controlled by the English, who acquired 
it through crafty diplomacy. That plan fell through, 
because of the adverse criticism and it will fall 


THE GREAT DESERT 89 

through once more. While it would have a certain 
great result for France, the consequences due to the 
change of climate would not only affect Africa, but 
would be disastrous to the entire world. 

“After having inspected the site of the proposed 
canal I have been piloted by a French aviator over 
the mysterious deserts. Contrary to my own and 
most people’s ideas, I found to my delight, that the 
desert is not all sand. 

“The story my father once told me, when I was 
a small boy, came to my mind. He said that the 
easiest way to catch the lions of Africa was to sift 
the sands of the deserts,- and what did not go 
through the mesh of the sieve were the lions. 

“We flew over depressions and mountains, rang¬ 
ing from 100 feet below sea level to 6,000 feet 
above. In isolated instances, the mountains rose up 
to a height of 8,000 feet or more. A few of the 
mountains were of volcanic origin as could be seen 
from the craters and cones. 

“It is said that some of these mountainous re¬ 
gions, never actually explored, are the dwelling 
places of the descendants of pre-historic cave men. 
Whether this is true or not I cannot say. I kept a 
sharp lookout for them, but did not succeed in see¬ 
ing them. 

“We passed over valleys through which, at one 


9 o 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


time, water must have flowed. Vast tracts of loose 
stones and pebbles were to be seen, their surfaces 
highly polished by the sand winds passing over them. 

“On every hand there was sand. Sand and more 
sand. The sand dunes seemed to be without end. 
These dunes, or sand waves, for that is what they 
really are, vary in length and height and run diag¬ 
onally to the prevailing winds. Shifting under the 
force of the wind, they travel slowly in different di¬ 
rections, filling old depressions and leaving new ones 
in their wake. Oases have been literally swallowed 
up by these sand waves, which, in their irresistible 
march, passed over them and on, leaving no trace 
of what was previously a garden spot in the desert. 

“Most curious are the inland mountains, known 
as the ‘Witness of the Arabs.’ These are the re¬ 
mains of a one-time widely distributed mountain ter¬ 
race. The sand winds and storms passing over them 
through the years have robbed them of most of their 
bulk, leaving only the solid hard cores, which now 
form a group of flat-topped pyramidal mountains. 

“While flying over these mountains, a band of 
savages began shooting at us. They had become 
frightened at our aeroplane. Luckily we were high 
enough to be beyond range of their rifles and no 
damage resulted. 

“A great many oases were to be seen. Some 


9i 


THE GREAT DESERT 

cover great areas, while here and there are smaller 
ones. Some of the smaller ones are grouped 
together. 

“Most of these oases are rich in vegetation, espe¬ 
cially in fruits, such as apples, peaches, oranges, 
citrons, figs, grapes and pomegranates. The date, 
however, predominates. The oases are the home, 
of the date palm and these trees play a most impor¬ 
tant part in desert life. Staple foods, such as corn, 
wheat, rice, barley, durra and dukhn, are also 
grown. Besides these a few other tropical products 
are cultivated. 

“Asses, camels and a breed of black cattle are the 
main domestic animals. Of course the full-blooded 
horse is to be seen in large numbers. 

“The population, made up of Berbers, Arabs, 
Maurers, Negroes and Jews, is chiefly engaged 
in cattle raising and trading. The caravans, in their 
journey across the desert, pass through various oases 
at which they replenish supplies. It is at these oases 
that trading is liveliest. For products of the oases 
are traded guns, ammunition, gold dust, clothing and 
quite often slaves brought with the caravans from 
the seacoast cities. 

“France also contemplates building railways 
through the Sahara to furnish easy communication 
between Algeria and Nigeria. This proposed plan 


92 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


has already found many advocates. Two principal 
railroad routes have been suggested: one taking the 
easterly line from Biskra through Wargla to Air 
and Zinder—the route followed by Fourneau in 
1898, under the protection of Major Laury; the 
other starting from the terminus of the most west¬ 
erly railway already existing at the Harbor of Casa¬ 
blanca, and reaching Timbuktoo by way of Igli and 
the Tuat Oasis. But these plans are dreams. At 
any rate the railways themselves are a long way 
off, as they would not earn interest on the capital 
invested. 

“For a long time to come travel across the Sahara 
will be by caravan. There are five principal north 
and south caravan routes. One from Rio de Oro 
leads over the Waran Desert to Timbuktoo on the 
Niger River; one from Mogador, in Morocco, goes 
through the sand hill region of Igidi to Timbuktoo; 
another from Tangiers and Algiers through the 
Tuat Oasis to Timbuktoo; another from Tripolis, 
over Ghadames and Ghat at the Tasili Mountains 
to Kano and still another from Tripolis over the 
Oasis Blima to Kuke, at the Tsad Sea, and then on 
to Bengasi and Wadai. The foremost are those 
leading to Timbuktoo, the Queen City of the Sahara. 

“Long before Christ, some of the present routes 
were used by the Romans in their explorations of the 



93 


THE GREAT DESERT 

desert for its products. In the fourth century, Field- 
Marshal Salomon penetrated from the north to Tim- 
buktoo and as far as the Sudan. Missionaries, 
preaching the doctrines of Mohammed and Islam, 
in crossing the desert, used the same routes as are 
used today. For centuries, so far, there has been 
nothing new under the sun of the Great Desert, with 
probably the exception of the Frenchman Lebaudy’s 
adventure in 1913, attempting to crown himself 
‘Emperor of the Sahara.’ 

“Progress is not made here as in other countries 
and as a result this vast land is the least populated 
of any on the face of the earth. While the climate 
is not what might be termed unhealthful, the climatic 
conditions of the desert are, however, the cause of 
the stagnation. The temperature ranges from 
seventy to one hundred and twenty degrees, Fahren¬ 
heit, during the day time, while the nights are cold 
with a temperature of thirty-five to forty-five and 
quite often below zero. 

“Very little rain falls, and the desert rarely ex¬ 
periences a rain storm. However, frequent and ter¬ 
rific electrical discharges take place and the desert 
dweller is ever in fear of the terrible blizzard-like 
sand storms. 

“But for all that, the Sahara has played her part 
in history. In the days of Julius Caesar and the 


94 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


later Roman emperors, the Sahara was called the 
‘Granary of the Roman Empire.’ Rome, then at 
the pinnacle of power, took the wealth of the desert. 
Slaves were carried to Rome together with vast 
quantities of grain, oil, wine, leather, spices and per¬ 
fumes. Served and fed at little or no cost by the 
subject colonies of North Africa, the Romans were 
enabled to lead a life of the maddest luxury, idle* 
ness and self indulgence. 

“While landing near Timbuktoo yesterday, the 
pilot drove the nose of the plane into the sand, 
wrecking the machine. Neither of us was hurt. 
Will stay here for a few days’ rest, and will then 
take the first opportunity to return to America.” 

The article finished, Carl posted it immediately. 
He went out to smoke a cigarette and later, for want 
of something better to do, sauntered over to the 
dance hall designated by the hotel keeper that after¬ 


noon. 


CHAPTER VI 


THE DANCE OF THE VAMPIRE 

f —|—^HE dancing place, an open space surrounded 
by palms and date trees, under which 
were tables and chairs for the guests, was 
already quite crowded when Carl arrived. As he 
looked about for a seat, an Arab, apparently acting 
as an usher to the Europeans, guided him through 
the crowd to a seat near the arena. What mattered 
it if the seat were already occupied by another Arab? 
A few words and the threat of a kick sent him 
scurrying away, although Carl noted, with a smile, 
that he waited nearby for the other, apparently in 
anticipation of part of Carl’s tip. 

A native tribe was performing one of their wild 
desert dances, swinging their guns and great scimi¬ 
tar-like knives in a most fascinating way—howling 
and shrieking at the top of their lungs and accom¬ 
panied by the deafening noise of a native band. 

The dance over, there was a wild scrambling 
among the dancers to get the coins that were tossed 


95 




96 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

to them by the spectators. The last coin tossed and 
picked up; the last dancer aided from the scene by a 
prod of a booted foot, a man stepped into the circle 
and in a loud voice proclaimed, 

“You are now going to witness the ‘Dance o f the 
Vampire’ by the Europeanized Desert Flower. 
This young siren has been proclaimed by the art 
judges of Europe to be one of the most lovely 
women on earth. Her beauty is beyond words and 
her dance extraordinary! But judge for yourself! 
Behold Sana, our Desert Flower. None can rival 
her. Not even the beauties of the harem!” 

Musing to himself, Carl muttered, “If I were not 
in Africa I should swear I was at Coney Island.” 

The eyes of the audience are turned toward a tent 
near the dancing space. There is a low rumble from 
the tom-toms of the native orchestra. The flaps of 
the tent are pushed aside and a young woman steps 
out. For a moment she stands there, looking over 
the crowd as if in defiance. Then with a graceful 
movement of her arms she casts aside the native 
shawl in which she is wrapped. 

The spectators stir in their chairs. From all sides 
come the “ahs” of expectant watchers. Carl, too, 
is visibly affected. The “barker” was right. The 
woman, whoever she was, could take a beauty prize 
anywhere. 


THE DANCE OF THE VAMPIRE 97 

The music grows louder while the dancer with 
fleet steps, hurries to the middle of the arena to 
commence her dance. 

Carl notes her costume. About her brow is bound 
a strand of flashing gems. Her body is bare, cov¬ 
ered only by a pair of violet colored breast shields, 
richly embroidered with a bluebird design of beads; 
short satin tights, slashed at the sides, and also of 
violet hue. These are augmented by a string of 
pearls, hanging from her neck holding the breast 
shield in place. Yet there was nothing indelicate 
about this scanty costume. Carl recalled that he had 
seen many in France that were shocking when com¬ 
pared to this. Here was beauty and harmony. It 
was not the costume but the girl whose beauties it 
revealed that made it a wonderful picture. 

There were dangerous curves ahead, Carl mused, 
for those of the men in the audience who were so 
inclined. The women, he felt sure, would appear to 
he unaware of her beauties, but would, nevertheless, 
make comparisons in their own minds. 

To Carl, however, no sensual thoughts occurred. 
To him the girl was an object of art. With a con¬ 
noisseur’s eye for beauty he studied her from head 
to foot. Her height he judged to be about five feet 
five inches; her figure that of Venus de Medici. Hav¬ 
ing a good memory for figures he recalled that the 


98 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

dimensions of that statute were, bust and hips, 36 
and 38 inches respectively; waist, 26 inches. The 
dancer’s back was long and slender, almost flat near 
the shoulders, but deeply curved at the waist. Her 
limbs were well rounded, soft and large at the hips, 
tapering down very gently toward small dimpled 
knees. From there they gracefully swelled to her 
calves and in exquisite proportion diminished gently 
to her finely rounded ankles and slender feet. Her 
smooth arms were softly molded from shoulder to 
wrist, with dimpled elbows like a baby’s. The 
small wrists with long slender hands and fingers 
were those of an aristocrat. Her entire body, he 
noted, scarcely revealed the existence of bone—in 
fact there were no sharp, thin or angular points to 
be seen. Indeed a veritable Venus! 

H er soft skin, of fine texture, was uniformly 
tanned over her entire body, as if she were wont to 
take regular sun baths in Eve’s costume. Powder 
and rouge were conspicuous by their absence, her 
complexion being naturally healthy and full of 
bloom. A beautiful symmetrical face, with a deli¬ 
cate lower jaw, a small, distinctly curved, cupid’s 
bow mouth; a high finely arched brow added to the 
beauty of her sparkling eyes. 

Hers was a gracefully molded head, somewhat 
high forehead, with a straight, clear cut, slender 


THE DANCE OF THE VAMPIRE 99 

nose, indicating intelligence. Her dark hair and silk¬ 
like skin showed her refinement of birth; her intelli¬ 
gent eyes, gray-blue, were lustrous and brilliant, full 
of fire, and in size well proportioned to her ruby¬ 
lipped mouth. When smiling, slightly pinkish teeth, 
semi-transparent, looking like two rows of pearls, 
enchanted the beholder. 

Her upward curved oval shaped nosti ils, and the 
small wrists and ankles, together with her entire bear¬ 
ing, betrayed that she was, or at least could be, a 
woman of extreme passion. She could be a vampire, 
Carl mused, a real one, if once her nature was 
aroused. 

He could not tell whether desire had as yet been 
awakened in her. Young and vibrant, she appeared, 
off hand, as a rare desert flower, grown up undefiled 
and now blooming in full glory. 

Then came reaction. Carl felt himself consumed 
by an overpowering desire for this girl. To make 
matters worse, the dancer when passing his table, 
gave him a glance that caused his bosom to heave 
and his eyes to shine with that light that clever 
women kindle in men. 

To his mind came memories of the many girls he 
had met and known. None of them, he realized, 
would ever mean anything to him now. This desert 
dancer was his ideal. Yes, Grace, Fannie, Marion 


ioo UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

and the rest were out of the question now. None of 
them could compare with this girl, either in physical 
or spiritual beauty. Dorinda was about the only 
girl whose figure could match that of this dancer. 

But Carl was not alone in his studies of the girl. 
The others, too, are gazing intently at her. Not a 
movement of her lithe form escaped their eager 
eyes. Not a sound came from their lips, even their 
breathing seemed suppressed. It was as quiet as 
Mass at church. 

Carl could scarcely restrain himself when the dan¬ 
cer came near him, whirling and gyrating her body, 
And the dance! Carl had never seen anything of 
its kind before. This was no shimmy of the city 
dance-hall, no “danse du ventre,” but something wild 
and free. Wild and free, he reasoned, like the girl 
herself. 

Their eyes met, and in her look Carl thought he 
read mutual understanding. The girl seemed to lose 
control of herself. Carl feared what would come 
next, when suddenly the music stopped its wail. The 
dancer stopped and bowing to the audience sought 
to return to her tent amidst the applause of the 
crowd. 

Carl was all fire and flame as he pondered in his 
mind on how he could best become acquainted with 
her. One of his first thoughts was, “If she were only 



With the connoisseur’s eyes for beauty, he studied her from head 
to foot. Carl could hardly restrain himself, when the dancer came 
near him, whirling and gyrating her body. 


IOI 
























102 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

on Broadway, instead of here in the wilderness, sur¬ 
rounded by date trees and sand, monkeys and lions.” 

He raised his glass to his lips, when he heard a 
slight uproar in the vicinity of the dancer’s tent. 
Looking closely he saw that one of the visitors, more 
intoxicated by the liquor he had consumed than by 
the beauty of the dancer, was endeavoring to em¬ 
brace and kiss her. 

It was but a matter of a moment for Carl to 
reach the spot. Angrily he pulled the man aside. 
This started a fight. The annoyer attempted to pum¬ 
mel Carl, who proceeded to take all the fight out of 
him with a straight left to the jaw. With a thud 
the other hit the ground, but quickly recovered him¬ 
self and sneaked shamefaced and properly chagrined 
from the place. 

The hour was late and most of the people soon 
left the dancing place. The tourists disappeared, 
and the place became practically deserted save for 
a few natives. 

The dancer came up close to Carl, and, much to 
his surprise, thanked him in excellent English. He 
mumbled something as to its “being all right”; but 
before he realized what he was saying he had asked 
whether he could speak to her a while. 

After a moment’s hesitation her consent was 
given. As he sat opposite the girl he studied her 


THE DANCE OF THE VAMPIRE 103 

face intently. Was he dreaming? Or did he really 
recall those eyes? A new feeling, far different from 
that which he experienced when she danced before 
him, came to Carl, supplanting that less worthy one. 

The girl, seeing Carl’s hesitancy to speak, began, 
“I feel as if I must tell you the whole story—that is, 
if you care to hear.” 

“Please do,” returned Carl. During the dance he 
knew of many things he would like to say to her, but 
now—well he thought it best to let her do the talking. 

“Well, to get to the point, the man you just drove 
away has long been an evil influence in my life. His 
name is de Rochelle. I worked for him as his secre¬ 
tary in Paris and New York. He forced his love 
upon me, through hypnotic influence. Later, he 
wanted to get rid of me, so, while he had me under 
his influence he commanded me to commit suicide 
by leaping from one of the bridges that span the 
East River, in New York.” 

“Commit suicide?” questioned the astounded 
Carl. “But why should he command that?” 

“I found out, later, that he would have collected 
some fifty thousand dollars’ insurance and would 
have returned to France to marry another girl.” 

“The beast,” was all Carl could say. 

The girl continued, “I would have carried out his 
orders but for an incident I have never forgotten. 


io 4 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

As I was about to swing myself over the rail, a gen¬ 
tleman came up to hand me a handkerchief I had 
dropped in my excitement. He kept talking to me, 
not realizing, I suppose, my true intentions.” 

Carl, his mouth half-opened in astonishment and 
looking at her as if dazed, reached across the table 
to clasp her hand, when she said, “I believe it was 
you who saved my life.” 

Silently they gazed at each other, the tears com¬ 
ing to their eyes. The girl had difficulty to keep 
from crying aloud, while Carl, deeply moved, could 
find no word to relieve the situation. Words are 
helpless things at times and at best they fail to 
convey our true feelings. Volumes were spoken in 
silence by the look in their eyes and the pressure 
of Carl’s hand. 

The girl’s hands trembled in his clasp, although 
he felt a slight pressure of them on his own. He 
drew one hand away to reach for a handkerchief so 
that she might dry her eyes. For a moment the 
gaze of the few people still present, caused him em¬ 
barrassment. What he would have liked to have 
done was to take her in his arms, to console her and 
kiss the tears away. 

Steeling herself against the emotion which was 
striving to get the better of her, Sana dried her eyes 
and attempted to smile. It was like the first sun- 


THE DANCE OF THE VAMPIRE 105 

beam that shoots from out the rifts of the depart¬ 
ing storm clouds. It served to restore the equilib¬ 
rium which had been so sorely disturbed by the emo¬ 
tional interlude. 

It was difficult for them to continue the conversa¬ 
tion on this subject, so they had some refreshments, 
talking the while of everything and nothing. It was 
the most natural thing for the conversation to drift 
back to New York, and drift there it did. 

They spoke of many things of mutual interest. 
Carl told her of his work at home, of his books, and 
why he visited the Sahara. Still puzzled though as 
to why Sana should be here in the desert, he asked 
her the reason. 

“That, too, is part of my story. But I shall begin 
at a point before I was born. 

“As a youth, Baron von Seckt was the ‘black 
sheep’ of a family of the German nobility. He was 
what you Americans call a good sport, squandering 
his parents’ money and contracting debts. Naturally 
he was much mixed up in social affairs and was the 
cause of many a family ‘row.’ 

“At last his escapades became too much for his 
father, who decided that the son would have to go 
either to America or Africa. The young man se¬ 
lected the latter. 

“He had money enough to last him perhaps a 


io6 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


year. He would enjoy himself while the money 
lasted—after that he could go to work. With this 
in mind he joined a hunting party. While in the 
region of the Niger River, near Ansozo, he became 
separated from his friends. He wandered around, 
lost and finally, totally exhausted, lay down to 
sleep. In his sleep he was attacked by a giant tiger 
snake. During the struggle which followed he was 
badly bitten by the snake. He managed, however, 
to kill it with his knife, and after freeing himself 
from its coils, fired several shots into its body to 
make sure it was dead. 

“These shots attracted the attention of a hunter 
who at the time was not far away. He found the 
stricken man, by then unconscious and took him to 
his camp, where he was taken care of by the hunter’s 
wife, a young and full-blooded gypsy. 

“Blood poisoning set in and the Baron was con¬ 
fined to his bed for some time. During this time 
the gypsy nursed and cared for the sick man, prob¬ 
ably with more ardor than was necessary. The re¬ 
sult was obvious. One day, even before the Baron 
was quite recovered, the hunter discovered him and 
the woman in very compromising circumstances. 
He pulled his revolver to make an end to the un¬ 
faithful pair, but he was not quick enough. The 


THE DANCE OF THE VAMPIRE 107 

Baron rushed at him and in the struggle that fol¬ 
lowed the hunter accidentally killed himself. 

“Shortly afterward the Baron married the gypsy, 
who as time passed gave birth to me, daughter of the 
Baron. That was at Temmimun, on the Gurara 
Oasis, where the couple had settled shortly prior to 
my birth. I am thus a ‘child of love.’ 

“My father taught me German, French and Eng¬ 
lish, while my mother taught me to play the violin, 
at which she was an adept. When I became sixteen 
my father took me to England to study, and prob¬ 
ably to find a life companion. English life and its 
hypocrisy did not appeal to me, so shortly afterward 
I went to Paris, making my home with a family I 
had met in London. Then I learned that my father 
had suddenly died of heart failure and that I would 
be forced to make my own way through life. 

“My knowledge of languages enabled me to se¬ 
cure work with an engineering concern, contemplat¬ 
ing developments in the Sahara desert. This is the 
organization of which you spoke. 

“Among the promoters of this concern was de 
Rochelle and soon he became one of my most ardent 
admirers. Although I was by no means in love with 
him, I often went to dinner or to the theater with 
him. One evening after dinner, which was served 
in a private dining room, he spoke to me of his 


io8 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


hypnotic powers. I had once read a book on the 
subject and was interested. In a joking way he of¬ 
fered to show me how it worked. Before I knew it, 
or could say a word in objection, I was under his 
influence. Months afterward I discovered that that 
night he had commanded me to love him and to 
marry him. 

“From that night on it seemed that I took a great 
and unaccountable liking for the man. Previously 
I had merely endured him. Now I loved him and 
was his willing slave. Before long we were engaged 
to be married. At times, though, the feeling of re¬ 
pulsion returned, but under his influence this soon 
gave way, disappearing finally for good. 

“De Rochelle’s work was to raise the money for 
the Sahara Development Organization, and to that 
end he was sent to New York. He induced me to 
accompany him as his secretary. What followed is 
already known to you.” 

“What do you think of the scheme of flooding the 
Sahara?” Carl asked, fearing a further discussion of 
her troubles might renew her tears. 

“I do not like it. I fear it.” 

“But why?” 

“The plan is to make the desert fertile as it used 
to be in the days of the Roman Empire. It is a 
great engineering problem and can be done by build- 


THE DANCE OF THE VAMPIRE 109 

ing a canal from the sea to allow the waters to flow 
in. As a large part of the desert lies below sea 
level, the water would naturally flood a large area. 
As you know, the sun would evaporate a lot of this 
water to be returned to earth in the form of rain, 
which falling on the surrounding desert would soon 
make it a fertile land. 

“But this undertaking, as I understand it, will not 
only change the climate of the Sahara but will affect 
that of the entire world. At a meeting of the pro¬ 
moters I heard it said that the result might he dis¬ 
astrous to the rest of the world. But like any na¬ 
tion or group of individuals seeking mere gain for 
themselves, the rest of the world is not likely to be 
taken into consideration. 

“It would be a good thing for the world at large if 
the Sahara could be revegetated, but it must not be 
the cause of suffering. I would give anything a 
woman can righteously offer to the one who will 
prevent this destructive flooding. You see, it would 
destroy my beloved homestead at the Gurara Oasis.” 

“It can be done,” remarked Carl, as he drew a 
pencil and a map from his pocket. He spread the 
map on the table between them and using his pencil 
as a pointer explained once more his mission in the 
desert, assuring her, at the same time, that he would 


no 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


think of a plan by which the catastrophes she feared 
would be avoided. 

Sana was overcome with joy. Rising from her 
chair, she clasped his hand with both hers, ex¬ 
claimed, “I have, indeed, found a friend in you.” 


CHAPTER VII 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 


A FTER a sleepless night, Carl arose early to 
take a stroll and enjoy his pipe. 

He had tried to woo sleep in every known 
way, but in vain. In his mind’s eye lurked the face 
of the girl he knew he loved better than anything 
on this earth, and through his brain whirled her 
promise to give anything a woman could offer to the 
man who could save her home from destruction. 

Sana had told him, the night before, that every 
morning it was her custom to ride on horseback to 
the not far distant Lake Faguibi. So Carl inquired 
the way of the hotel keeper. 

A few miles of brisk walking and he was at the 
lake. Looking around, and seeing no one, he sat 
down in a secluded spot, thinking of Sana and his 
plan to flood the Sahara. 

Time passed and Sana not yet coming into vision, 
he took his binoculars from their case and adjusting 
them, swept the surrounding country with his gaze. 
Looking over the waters of the lake, he noticed, not 


112 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

far from shore, a bather, enjoying a morning plunge. 
Focusing his glasses, he saw it was Sana, swimming, 
unhampered by even a bathing suit, in the blue- 
green water. 

Not wishing to spy on her he put down his glasses, 
to while away the time with his pipe, until she should 
have finished with her swim and had resumed her 
attire. 

After a time he again swung his glasses in the 
direction in which he had last seen her. She was 
no longer in the water. Leveling his binoculars on 
the shore, he scrutinized the scene closely. Ah! 
There she was. She was sitting on a stone behind 
some shrubbery, with only her legs to be seen below 
the foliage. She had evidently been out of the water 
for some time for he noticed that she was dressed. 

As he watched he saw a large butterfly alight on 
her left knee, moving undisturbed toward the top 
of her stocking. Sana was perhaps putting a finish¬ 
ing touch to her hair, for her hands were not to be 
seen. At any rate the butterfly resumed his progress 
without fear. 

That was all Carl could see and he studied the 
scene for a while as he would have meditated on a 
work of art. Surely the gods had given her beauty. 

Putting his glasses aside, he fell into a reverie. 
Full well did he realize that Sana was a woman of 



m^'nrr 




That w^is all Carl could see and he studied the scene for a 
while as he would have meditated on a work of art. Surely the 
gods had given her beauty. 










































































UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


114 

exceptional beauty and passion, whose enchantments 
could enslave and humiliate the proudest and crush 
the mightiest. Was she aware of it? He did not 
know. But if she was, why did she bury herself here 
in the burning sands? She had a knowledge of love 
and life, and Carl was certain she was anything but 
lukewarm. 

He gave her the benefit of the doubt, making up 
his mind at the same time that he would do his best 
to induce her to marry him and go to New York 
with him. 

How his friends would envy him, especially after 
he had remained a bachelor for so long a time. 
During the long years many a woman had tried to 
weave about him the net of love. There had been a 
time when he was legitimate prey to all kinds of 
cheats and vamps, but his experiences with them had 
taught him the cold calculating ways of the “gold 
digger” and he had resolved never again to play 
“Santa Claus.” 

Carl, while having enjoyed life, became a man of 
reserve and had never been anxious to be led to the 
slaughter at the altar of matrimony. He did not 
want to be a husband on paper only. He also knew 
that man might come too late, but woman never. 
But he was not a foolish boy who wrote letters to 
a smart girl, who saved them with a definite object 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 115 

in view. He knew, too, that passionate love is the 
source of little pleasure and of much suffering. 

Would Sana leave the desert soil of her birth 
for his sake? 

Passion he once called evil, but now planted in his 
heart it became virtue and joy. He and she would 
be well matched. Carl had found his ideal. 

Observations covering many years had taught him 
that most men are fools so far as women are con¬ 
cerned and that women are the most dangerous play¬ 
things God ever devised. But, he reasoned, this was 
generally caused by man’s own faults. 

The favor Sana would win, as his wife, among his 
friends he pictured in the brightest colors. 

It did occur to him that Sana, with feminine in¬ 
stinct, and so bewitching and beautiful a siren, could 
easily turn his vision of paradise into real hell, after 
she had brought him through a maelstrom of mad 
passion, which she would unquestionably arouse 
after having realized her full powers. “For woman, 
nothing is impossible” used to be a saying of his. 
But now, no such thoughts entered his head. He 
was too much in love! 

This time he was sure of it. There had been 
times in his life when he had thought himself in love, 
but luckily he realized the true state of affairs before 
too late. How much sorrow and unhappiness could 


n6 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


be spared us mortals if we could but see what the 
future will bring. 

Carl now thought of what had happened about a 
year before. 

At that time he was sure he loved a girl, Dorinda, 
a young cloak model. He had taken lodgings tem¬ 
porarily in a rooming house in New York, and it 
so happened that Dorinda had the room over him. 
He had met her casually and they had taken a great 
liking for each other. 

Dorinda was of the distinct flapper type, pretty 
to be sure, a good dresser, but a girl without much 
sense. H er one real ability, he now knew, was her 
art of weeping. You know the sort. The girl who 
crying bitterly relates her hard luck stories to arouse 
your sympathy and generosity. Resolved though he 
was against this very sort of thing, Carl like most 
men proved an easy, and perhaps willing, victim. 

That she came home at all hours of the morning 
or entertained men in her rooms until late into the 
night did not trouble Carl. His faith told him it 
was all right. 

Came an evening when he took her to dinner, as 
he had done quite regularly for some time. Do¬ 
rinda leaning across the table said softly, tears in 
her voice, “Carl, I have wanted to talk to you of 
this for a long time. You know that I have taken 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 


117 


friends to my room in the evening. I should not 
have done it, but I did not know better. I was 
wrong, but I did no wrong,” and taking his hand in 
hers, she pleaded, “Tell me that you believe me,” 
and when he assured her of his belief, Dorinda 
pressed his hand, and with a trembling voice whis¬ 
pered, “Thank you, Carl. I feel much better.” 

She was relieved, but not Carl. He made her 
promise that she would not be so foolish in the 
future. And to all appearances she kept her 
promise. 

Returning from a short business trip, however, 
Carl heard voices overhead until well into the morn¬ 
ing. The following day he reminded Dorinda of 
her promise, but in a huff she left him without a 
word of explanation. 

For some time they saw nothing of each other. 
But one evening she came to his door with an apol¬ 
ogy on her lips. And Carl, fool-like, accepted the 
apology. Immediately she launched into a recital of 
intimacy, concerning the trouble a supposed girl 
friend had gotten in. Carl listened quite attentively 
it is true, but while listening put two and two 
together. 

But if it had not been for a few remarks between 
the girl and the landlady, overheard by him on his 
way to business, he never would have known the 


118 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

truth. He realized then his narrow escape. Sup¬ 
pose he had asked her to marry him, as he had con¬ 
templated for so long a time? 

Now, Sana had crossed his path. But Sana, he 
knew and rightly so, was not Dorinda. 

He waited until she had stepped from behind the 
bushes that had hidden her while dressing, before he 
made his presence known. 

“Good morning, Miss Sana.” 

“Oh, how do you do, Mr. Lohman. What brings 
you here—and so early?” 

“Just taking a morning stroll to better enjoy my 
pipe,” lying it is true, but he must not rush matters. 

“It is rather a pleasant surprise to find you here 
at the beach. We are generally alone here.” 

“We?” Carl said in astonishment. 

“Yes,” she retorted, with a laugh, pointing to her 
handsome white Arab that stood champing at its 
bit a few yards away. 

“Oh,” relieved of a million and one doubts. 

Sana made a move as if to go away, when Carl 
asked, “Are you in a hurry, or did I disturb you?” 

“No, not at all.” 

“Come, let us sit here on the grass awhile and 
talk.” 

Carl, looking at her closely, “Do you know, I 
have been thinking quite a great deal of you since 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 119 

last evening. In fact you caused me a sleepless night 
—although it was quite pleasant at that.” 

Sana looked straight into his beaming eyes. A 
smile played on her delicate lips. 

“Is that possible, with all your American girls— 
your alluring New York flappers?” 

“The New York girl? Oh, she is a cold 
proposition.” 

“But if I kept you awake, how much must all 
those American girls keep you awake? Do you ever 
get much sleep? You know, I heard that New 
York girls are quite capable of keeping men awake.” 

“But, my dear,” interrupted Carl, “New York is 
not America; you cannot judge America by New 
York.” 

“Are you serious? Why, I thought New York 
was typical of what is American. Does not New 
York set the pace for the entire country, and does 
not the whole country fall in line, eager to do any¬ 
thing that is approved by New York?” 

“Yes, to some extent.” 

“More than that. The other cities copy New 
York’s buildings, her modes, her manners. Look 
at the flapper of Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Why 
all America is copying her, with her bobbed hair, 
short skirts, generously rolled down stockings, lip 
sticks, powder box and cigarettes.” 


120 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

“I admit that, but what of it?” 

“The trouble is that too many of your women are 
just make believe, fata morganas. Your New York 
girl is an illusion—an artist and a painter. She car¬ 
ries her repair shop continually with her. Peep into 
her hand bag and you will find rouge, powder puff, 
lip stick, eye-brow pencil, nail file, chewing gum, 
matches and a key.” 

This Carl could not deny. He knew it was so, 
but, as if to himself, he continued the topic, with 
“The use of cosmetics is a necessity to most of our 
girls. They do not have the same complexion as 
have Swedish or German girls, for instance, and they 
must resort to the artificial. But it is interesting, 
and sometime quite amusing to observe how our 
girls apply the art of make-believe. Of course, all 
are not experts. One will often find that on a round 
face the rouge has been applied to the center of the 
cheek and the hair fluffed out at the sides. It would 
have been better to have rouged up and down the 
cheek bones with the hair drawn closely to the head. 
In that way, an appearance of slimness would have 
been obtained. On the other hand, one notices hol¬ 
low cheeks without rouge and a closely drawn coif¬ 
feur. Elad the hollows been rounded out with rouge 
and the hair fluffed out that face would have been 
really attractive. 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 


I 2 I 


“But as a rule, they know their little game. Some 
of them go to the extent of applying a touch of 
rouge against the inner bridge of the nose and on the 
ear lobes to give the effect of transparency. 

“Take the girl with the so-called pug nose. She, 
as a rule, experiences great difficulty in making that 
nose fit in with the rest of her face. But it could 
easily be done. A straight narrow line of face pow¬ 
der along the nasal ridge, acting as sort of high light, 
would give prominence to the nose. 

“The whole matter of make-up can be compared to 
an artist putting a finishing touch to a picture. If he 
knows his art a few deft touches of the brush cre¬ 
ates harmony and beauty—if he doesn’t—well, just 
another daub.” 

“Yes,” Sana broke in, “but make-up is not the 
only kind of cleverness for which your American 
girls are admired. Take the matter of dress. Al¬ 
though you have girls with hair of all shades, black, 
brown, auburn, blonde—all seem to know what color 
of hat, dress, shoes and stockings to choose. The 
brunettes know how to pick yellow and orange and 
the blondes light blues.” 

“I have often noticed that, too. In that they are 
adept. Too much so, perhaps, when one realizes 
that a good many of them spend every cent they earn 
just to match the outfit. Much of it, to a thinking 


i22 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

person, is sheer waste. Some have a dress mania; 
they are the least part of themselves, they become 
manikins, of no greater value than their dresses. 

“And the time they spend on their eye-brows and 
lashes to give better expression to their eyes! Ye 
Gods! Right in my own office at home it was so 
noticeable that I have been working on a plan to 
change the color of the eyes. You know, with some 
people, the color of the eye changes temporarily, due 
to internal feeling, and with this in mind I believe I 
can perfect a plan. Think of the time it would save 
you girls.” 

“Change the color of the eyes?” Sana was 
amazed. “Do you mean to say that, for instance, 
light blue or grayish eyes could be made deep blue?” 

“Yes, I think so. I have experimented with other 
subjects and it worked. I am positive it can be ap¬ 
plied to women’s eyes—but it would be a slow 
process. Don’t they change the color of cut 
flowers?” 

Sana retorted, an impish look coming into her 
eyes, “Oh, I see. You want your fair subject to 
stand overnight with her feet in ink.” 

“Not quite that,” laughing. 

“But tell me, how it is that you, a man and an 
engineer are so interested in feminine matters? I 
suppose you change your sweetheart as often as you 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 123 

do your tie, and that you have a large assortment of 
ties.” 

To which Carl made no response, so Sana, with a 
gay laugh, continued “Your note book must look 
like a harem directory.” 

Carl’s retort “Nothing doing” was snappy and 
Sana hastened to sooth him with “Please do not 
misunderstand me. But I’m curious to know how it 
is you know so much about what women wear and 
use. Isn’t it rather strange?” 

“Oh, I don’t know. To a large extent it has al¬ 
ways been rather an impersonal proposition—sort 
of big brother like, you know. The girls would 
come to me with all sorts of questions regarding 
beauty, clothes, etc., and because I wanted to tell 
them my true viewpoint, it was natural that I should 
take an interest in them and their methods. To be 
frank I learned, too, that even the deposit from a 
lip stick does not taste so very bad.” 

Sana, glancing at Carl from the corner of her 
eyes, “I suppose you discovered that at a very early 
age.” 

“Yes, you are right. I came home from school 
one day with the imprint of a pair of cupid’s bows 
on my cheek, much to the merriment of my sister. 
And those ‘bows’ weren’t left there by a city girl, 


124 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


either. She was a country lass, whose parents had 
sent her to school in New York.” 

“And from then on you were a lady’s man?” 

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that. It’s all a question of 
viewpoint. In fact it was just such misunderstand¬ 
ing that changed my career. I wanted to be an artist 
—a painter and sculptor. I had a great liking for 
that and a certain amount of talent. But my parents, 
misunderstanding my fondness for the feminine sex, 
talked me out of it. They were sure I would never 
succeed as an artist—my time, they said, would be 
more occupied with my models than with my brush. 
Perhaps they were right, one never can tell.” 

“But I believe you would have made a good 
artist.” 

“How do you know?” Carl smiled. 

“Well, one can easily see that you are fond of 
beauty and harmony—as for the rest, well, I can 
tell.” 

“Really?” 

“Yes. My father taught me character reading. 
Besides my mother showed me how to read the 
palm.” 

Carl stretched forth his hand to have her read 
the lines, but Sana changed the subject: “But we are 
drifting away from our topic—comparing the New 
York girl with others. Comparing them with girls 





THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 125 

of other American cities they are found to be much 
alike. But when you compare her with a European 
girl—ah, then you see the difference.” 

“Such a comparison should be interesting. Let 
me have your candid opinion.” 

“First of all, take the French girl. She is a nat¬ 
ural charmer with a lovely body. She knows how 
to attract male companions, gives them precisely 
what they desire and then applies her knowledge and 
ambition to controlling the male. That she does is 
well known. That is the Parisienne. France like all 
countries has a great variety of women. She has the 
country girl and the city girl, and if a comparison 
is to be made it must be between the country girl of 
France and the country lass of America, between the 
Parisienne and the New Yorker. 

“Then consider the English, or rather the Anglo- 
Saxon women. Their beauty is marred by the large¬ 
ness of the features. Their feet are also large. The 
English woman, as records show, is at the top in the 
average size of shoes. She is there with number 
seven and a half; American women, with number 
seven, come second; German, six and a half; France, 
six; Spain, five and a half, and South America with 
number five. As your country is made up of all 
nationalities, the majority of them are German, then 
the Irish and thirdly English, it is but logical that 


126 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


the German element in your country caused the re¬ 
duction—giving your women a number seven shoe 
as the average size. The limbs and features of 
English women are angular, rawboned so to speak. 
They are loose-fleshed and their dress—frightful. 
While there are, of course, quite a few exceptions, 
they, on the most part, cannot stand inspection. 

“On the other hand, there is the German girl. 
People are apt to decry them by comparing the 
country girl of Germany with the city girl of other 
countries. I am sure that you, an American, will 
admit that you were most impressed with the musi¬ 
cal voices of the women, their long silky hair and 
fine complexions. In those respects she cannot be 
compared with the women of any other country. 
The women as a rule are modest, orderly and home- 
loving. What she knows, she knows thoroughly, 
and she will not argue with you on a subject she does 
not understand. In some countries it is just the 
contrary. If she has the money and feels like dress¬ 
ing, she does not overdress. But as a rule the av¬ 
erage German girl is not well dressed. That is 
where the American girl has the great advantage. 

“The Spanish and Russian women have their own 
points of attraction. It has been said that the 
women of Spain have the loveliest arms and shoul¬ 
ders. I agree to that. It is also true of the refined 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 127 

Russian woman. The average American girl has 
slim arms, fashioned much after those of her Anglo- 
Saxon sisters. Her shoulders, however, are more 
apt to be round and fleshy, whereas those of the 
Spanish and Russian women are flat. The Russian 
women, too, have the faculty of mastering lam 
guages, something that cannot be said of the average 
Anglo-Saxon. 

“The Italian girl blooms and fades early. When 
in full bloom she is lovely, but the beauty seldom 
lasts. 

“But to get back to your American girl. Regard¬ 
less of what might be said to the contrary she is 
superior to all in many ways. She is well dressed, 
though at times underdressed. Either way, though, 
she spends a great deal of time and money on 
clothes. 

“She paints, as you say, like an artist and as in 
no other place on the globe. Her coiffure is always 
neat and in fine trim. She is free to talk on things 
that interest her and in that respect cannot be com¬ 
pared with her hypocritical Anglo-Saxon sister. She 
is independent and knows how to help herself out of 
difficulties. She is a great charmer of men, but, as 
your divorce records show, she does not seem to 
know how to hold their affections. 

“Of course, one cannot expect all the good quali* 


123 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


ties in one set of women. As a rule, however, the 
American woman is superior to many. 

“Take the American stage, for instance. No other 
country has so many beautiful girls on the stage. Of 
course, it is true that they are selected from all over 
the country and are of different nationalities, but 
they are essentially American. 

“All in all, the American woman is to be admired. 
Her style, grace and freedom of movement cannot 
be found elsewhere. There is no doubt but what 
most of her good examples are to be found in New 
York. The most attractive ones seem to concentrate 
in New York. 

“But the trouble is that contact with men makes 
the American woman more or less mercenary. 
That, of course, is the man’s fault. You American 
men are too apt to think of life as a mere matter 
of dollars and cents, and it is only natural that your 
women, hearing that doctrine preached from early 
morning to late at night, should in turn become of 
the same mind.” 

Carl had no intention of arguing. He realized 
that Sana had overlooked certain phases of Amer¬ 
ican life—he saw, too, that she did not speak of the 
American woman as being high-strung, stubborn and 
cranky at times, and that a great many of them 
never know what they want. 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 129 

His words, therefore, did not betray his thoughts. 
“Yes, I believe you are right. I admire your knowl¬ 
edge. But, please do not compare New York with 
our other cities. New York is not America, and 
never will be.” 

“But what, then, is America? In Chicago, Cleve¬ 
land, Denver or any large American city you are 
told that these respective cities do not represent the 
life and customs of the United States. Where, then, 
will you find the true American?” 

Carl shrugged his shoulders, replying, “You can 
search me. But America cannot be judged by the 
individual or by any group of individuals. America 
is the melting pot of the world. All nations, all 
creeds enter into the life of America. The nation 
can only be judged as a nation. The national spirit 
is the thing.” 

“Even to the point of hypocrisy?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“Your dry laws, for instance—what a farce!” 

“You have got me there. On that point I cannot 
argue. It is true that hypocrisy enters there. And 
hypocrisy is the worst enemy a nation can have 
within its borders. In the long run it leads to the 
destruction of a nation as a great nation. Incalcu¬ 
lable good would be rendered a people if they could 


i 3 o UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

only be made to understand and realize the dangers 
of hypocrisy.” 

“But what do you, as an American, think of the 
dry laws?” 

“I can only speak from a nonpartisan point of 
view. I have never indulged to a great extent, so 
the law had no personal effect on me. Theoretically 
the country is as dry as the desert sands—practically 
speaking it is as wet as it ever was. However, to 
get a drink one must either go to another country or 
be a law breaker in his own country. It is quite ob¬ 
vious that all desiring a drink cannot travel to a 
foreign land, so the law is broken. 

“Of course, those who can afford to do so, go to 
Cuba or Europe, and there, like your camels of the 
desert, they fill themselves with the wine and beer 
of Germany, the cognac and champagne of France, 
the brandies and whiskies of England, to tide them 
over the return.” 

“Oh, dear, you are joking. It is really not as bad 
as that, is it? But you know, when I was in New 
York, I was given several recipes for the making of 
home brews and wines. Seems as if the art of brew¬ 
ing is becoming one of the greatest American accom¬ 
plishments. I brought the recipes home with me,” 
laughing lightly. “Some day the Sahara may get 
really dry and then I could make use of the formu- 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 


131 

las. Of course, I suppose I could, like your truly 
patriotic Americans, indulge in water only. I used 
to think that water was for ablution only, but it 
seems that you Americans have discovered another 
use for it.” 

“Yes, and the ones who fostered the idea should 
get an iron cross pinned on them, or, they should at 
least receive the Nobel Prize as a reward for taking 
away the personal liberties of a people and making 
a crowd of hypocritical law breakers of them. The 
part that hurts is that the people had no say in the 
matter, whether they liked it or not. Yet the people 
are the builders of the nation—the ones who have 
contributed to its greatness.” 

“Speaking of the contributions to a nation, what 
struck me most forcibly in your country was the uni¬ 
formity and monotony in every city and town I vis¬ 
ited. That is, with a rare exception.” 

“Oh, then, you admit there was an exception. 
Where was it?” 

“My friend Mr. O’Brien had to make a business 
trip to Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, so he took his 
wife and myself with him in his car. We passed 
through a number of New Jersey and Pennsylvania 
cities and towns, and in the evening he took us to a 
great county fair in Allentown, a city adjoining 
Bethlehem. It was there that I found the exception 


132 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

to the rule so far as American cities are concerned. 

Allentown certainly was different. 

“Never before had I seen streets so well and so 
uniformly lighted—even very much better than your 
own Fifth Avenue in New York. Even Europe can 
boast of nothing of the like. There was a touch of 
the artist that appealed very much to me, and I be¬ 
lieve to all visitors to that town. That is, the lamp 
posts have, near the lamp, large bowls that are al¬ 
ways kept filled with differently colored flowers and 
trailing vines in summer, and evergreens, I under¬ 
stand, in winter. 

“In the middle of the public square was a great 
granite monument, erected in honor of the Soldiers 
and Sailors of Allentown. What impressed me 
most was the lighting effect used to show the monu¬ 
ment at night. Nothing garish, like the Coney 
Island effect, so many times seen in America, but the 
whole was bathed in a soft glow that was extremely 
effective and peaceful. 

“We liked Allentown so much that we remained 
overnight, and before leaving the following day, 
took time to look around. To our surprise we 
found the sidewalks and streets extremely clean, 
which is the exception, as you know, for an indus¬ 
trial city of some hundred thousand population. 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 


i33 


But everything was different, even the people seemed 
different and more friendly.” 

“Yes, I know it,” was Carl’s dry answer. 

“But as I said, it was an exception. Otherwise I 
found all over the same streets, the same railway 
stations, the same houses, the same stores, and the 
same people in the same dress. They asked me the 
same questions, using the same diction and the same 
expression, in the same mechanical voice, accom¬ 
panied by the same sort of smile. Nothing indi¬ 
vidual or original. Do all Americans think the 
same, act the same?” 

“Not by any means. You barely scratched the 
surface. You did not see what was underneath.” 

“Perhaps not, but to me it seemed that everything, 
animate and inanimate, bore the same mark of 
standard uniformity imprinted on all with rubber 
stamps cast from the same die. Why, in every city 
I visited one could see on the sidewalks, floors of 
public buildings, even in churches, the same round 
marks of cast-away chewing gum. And in every city 
it stuck to my shoes in the same way.” 

She paused awhile, but Carl was too deep in 
thought for words, so Sana continued: 

“Yet, there is no other country on the face of the 
earth that could be made so interesting in every walk 
of life as your own, for, as you say, it is made up of 


134 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


people from all lands—they have given it the great¬ 
ness it possesses. But what is so contradictory of 
the general state of life is the unique way in which 
all the people seem to seek notoriety—the under¬ 
dressed women of the street and ballroom—the sen¬ 
sational divorces and murders—the demands of the 
blackmailers and the numerous clever ways in which 
unassuming persons are cheated out of their hard 
earned dollars by fraudulent schemers and consum¬ 
mate rogues. Seemingly, this condition appears to 
be a paradox, and so it would be if entirely sep¬ 
arated from the general plan of life, but it is in¬ 
extricably interwoven in the cosmic scheme—the 
whole. Because someone has been successful in a 
certain line, oblivious of its virtue or its evil, others 
will pursue the same path in quest of wealth equal 
to their brother. Yet considering all, I greatly ad¬ 
mire your country. It holds a spell of fascination 
for me, although I cannot define it.” 

“It is indefinable,” replied Carl, gazing far in the 
distance. 

Carl, although one could not say he was unatten- 
tive to Sana in her discourse, was thinking of things 
other than the subject of her remarks. Turning to 
the girl, he asked, “Where did you learn the fasci¬ 
nating dance you performed last night?” 

“Oh that? Just a few steps which de Rochelle 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 135 

taught me while I was under hypnotic influence. A 
friend of mine, Count von Sarnoff, called it the 
‘Vampire Dance,’ after he had seen it.” 

“Von Sarnoff? A Russian?” 

“Why, yes. A young Russian fellow—sporty to 
an extreme I discovered, and deadly in love with 
me.” 

“Hmm. How did you get along with him? The 
temperatures and temperaments of Russia and the 
Sahara are two very different things and hardly to 
be reconciled.” 

“That is just what made it so fascinating—for a 
time. Love speaks an international language, you 
know,” she smiled. 

“Indeed? Quite interesting”—coldly, then chang¬ 
ing his manner quickly, “But it would be most charm¬ 
ing to hear your story of the ‘Vampire Dance’.” 

“If you promise not to say nasty things, or get 
angry at what I tell you, I shall tell you all about it.” 

Carl was but too anxious to learn anything and 
everything relating to Sana, not to yield compliance 
to this mild request. Her musical voice, her man¬ 
ner and ways had already worked their charm. He 
was even more in love than he imagined. 

“Please tell me. I promise to be good.” 

“Bear that in mind, then. It is not to everyone 
I tell such things as this. 



136 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

“After de Rochelle had disappeared I returned to 
Europe where in Paris I met the Princess Cassandra, 
a Russian. I traveled with her, as companion, over 
Europe, visiting the various resorts and cities. At 
Monte Carlo, while we were trying to lose our 
money, I suppose, at one of the roulette tables, the 
Princess recognized her nephew, von Sarnoff, who 
had been winning steadily. He came over to our 
table and after the usual introductions, played for 
me. He seemed to have lots of luck and I won 
more money than I had ever seen before. Then we 
went to Baden-Baden, where de Rochelle put in an 
appearance. I had him arrested while he was fight¬ 
ing a duel because of me, and then I returned to my 
desert home.” 

“But I thought you were going to tell me the story 
of the dance. How did you learn it?” 

“The dance itself was an exotic movement that 
had its birth in the mind of de Rochelle, who taught 
it to me when I was in a trance. But he has passed 
from my mind—he proved himself to be nothing but 
an impostor—that is all.” 

“But the dance you did last night would have been 
impossible while wearing the long dresses and 
clothes of civilization.” 

Sana looked at Carl with pleading eyes, “Why 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 137 

do you say that? The whole thing is distasteful to 
me now when I think of it.” 

Anxious though he was to hear the whole story, 
Carl did not wish to force it from the girl, so kept 
silent, looking out over the desert sands. 

Sana, however, read his thoughts. Patting his 
hand ever so lightly she resumed, “We are friends. 
I can tell it to you. I know you will understand. 
Perhaps it is for the best. Who knows?” 

Carl, letting his gaze rest on her face, objected 
with, “No—if it hurts you to tell it, I would rather 
you would not.” 

“But I promised I would. I shall keep my prom¬ 
ise. Only, please, please, do not think ill of me. 
That would hurt more than the story.” 

Before Carl could give voice to his thoughts, Sana 
continued : 

“As I said the dance was taught me while under 
hypnotic influence. Upon coming out of the trance 
I found that I had partly disrobed myself. I did not 
realize it then, but I knew later that de Rochelle was 
using me as a plaything. Not that he ever harmed 
me. No. He always respected me. 

“However, I would not advise any woman to sub¬ 
ject herself to hypnotic influence, even if the man be 
her lawful husband, as I believed de Rochelle would 


138 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

some day be to me. It is wrong, very wrong. The 
victim does just as the hypnotist wishes—tells him 
everything—lets him analyze every feeling or pas¬ 
sion. Just how far he went with me I shall never 
know, but I have shed many a bitter tear thinking of 
the state I found myself in when coming out of a 
trance.” 

“Poor girl. I wish I had that devil here.” 

“Please God, I shall never see him again. But 
I have learned my lesson. A lesson I shall never 
forget.” 

“Tell me about the dance. Forget him, and tell 
me that. You know I have never seen anything like 
it. Was it not improved upon by you? I’m sure it 
was.” 

“Yes, it was. You know my blood—gypsy blood 
—wild and free. After having been taught the first 
few steps the rest was easy. It was quite natural 
that my gypsy blood should come to the fore when 
I dance. 

“It was at Baden-Baden that I first danced in 
public. I was at a private entertainment given by 
the young von Sarnoff. All of us had been drinking 
more or less, and most of us were, as you Americans 
would say, ‘a little tipsy.’ We were there to enjoy 
ourselves and gave little heed or thought to the 


morrow. 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 139 

“Had I been sober I should never have let myself 
be persuaded by flattering words and praise. But 
the wine had gone to my head and I was easily led. 
Von Sarnoff had been making a fool of himself gen¬ 
erally, drinking champagne from my slipper and 
making ardent love to me. Then he asked me to 
dance for them. There had been several quite 
risque performances that evening and in my madness 
I knew I could outdo them all. So I got on the 
table, threw aside my remaining slipper and danced 
for them. Without realizing it, I dropped my outer 
garment while dancing. At the end of the dance I 
found myself standing there in my little pink com¬ 
bination suit. 

“Von Sarnoff refused to return my gown, but I 
managed to wrap myself in a table cover. It was 
von Sarnoff who christened me the ‘virtuous vam¬ 
pire dancer.’ Just how much vamping I do in my 
dance I never know. No doubt you and the other 
watchers last night could tell it better than I. But 
the name lingered in my mind, and so I have named 
it the ‘Dance of the Vampire’.” 

Carl, eager-eyed, “Really I must confess I did not 
pay much attention to the dance. My eyes were on 
the dancer. Suppose you show it to me now.” 

“No, not now. Some other time. Perhaps after 
you return once more to our great desert.” 


1 4 o UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

“Then I suppose I shall have to wait. But tell 
me, dear, why did you come to this out of the way 
corner of the earth after spending so much of your 
time in the great cities and resorts of the world?” 

“Oh, I soon tired of that false life. So I decided 
to join my mother, who, after my father’s death had 
moved here from the Gurara Oasis. This used to 
be her old home, you see. Here at least I can live 
a natural life, free from what you call civilization. 
Of course, even here one must make a living, so that 
is why I dance. They look at such things differently 
here. A woman can be a dancer and still be con¬ 
sidered good, but in Europe—well you know. Be* 
sides it is great fun to be able to ride around free 
as the air, in native dress, although sometimes I 
masquerade in European style.” 

“Sana, I admire the frankness with which you 
have related your experiences to me. I am glad, for 
your sake, that you have returned here. I hope, too, 
that you believe me when I say I know none of those 
happenings were brought about through fault of 
yours.” 

“I do believe you.” 

“As for your dance,” resumed Carl, “it is worthy 
of all the praise bestowed upon it, and I . . . ” 

“Oh, your American girls are equally as good 
dancers. I learned, too, that they were very clever 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 


141 

in ridding themselves of their stays when at dances. 
‘Parking them,’ I believe they call it. Of course, 
we of the desert do not wear such things at all. We 
have our own mode of costume and dress.” 

For a moment she hesitated and then continued, 
“I have often wondered why in America, such a 
large good-natured country, full of foreign elements, 
the very forefathers of the country did not do some¬ 
thing to maintain their national costumes in the 
mode of dress. How much more interesting it 
would be to see the dress of the American Indian, 
the true American, and that of the earlier settlers, 
instead of every one trying to pattern their clothes 
after the so-called latest European fashions? 

“How much more interesting and picturesque it 
would be to see Turks, Chinese, Japanese, Russians, 
Greeks and Swedes in their national costumes, in¬ 
stead of appearing as if all are of a single mind. 

“Many of your people travel through foreign 
lands to study foreign ways, while, in fact, you have 
everything in your own country, so far as peoples 
and their customs are concerned. Why deny it? 

“I noticed too that you have but one official lan¬ 
guage. Perhaps it is best, hut then take the case of 
Switzerland, much smaller in population than the 
city of New York. There they have three official 
languages and get along wonderfully. Everyone 


142 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


has the opportunity of learning three languages, 
which is a great thing to be sure. German, French 
and Italian are not called foreign or alien tongues in 
Switzerland. The very word ‘foreign’ specifies the 
limits of one’s knowledge.” 

All this while Carl had been thinking of just one 
thing. That was to secure Sana for himself. Sana, 
he was sure, brought up under the strict discipline of 
her father and with her broad views of life, would 
be a safer wife to him than the cold blooded, calcu¬ 
lating New York propositions, as he called them, 
most of whom do not know what they want, and flit 
from man to man as occasion demands. 

To suit his purpose, he changed the conversation, 
taking her hand into his. To his delight she made 
no attempt to prevent his doing so. 

“Do you intend staying here in this wilderness?” 

“Yes, for some little time. Sooner or later, 
mother and I shall return to the Gurara Oasis, where 
I was born.” 

“You mean you will never leave the desert?” Carl 
asked anxiously. 

“No, not that I know of. I do not care for Euro¬ 
pean life.” 

“Well, then, how about America, New York?” 

“I confess I do like New York, with its shops, and 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 143 

plays and excitement. Oh, yes, I like those funny 
little places in Greenwich Village, I believe you 
call it.” 

“Oh, that ‘nut section.’ They are rather uncon¬ 
ventional there. Who took you there?” 

“My friend, Mrs. O’Brien, myself and two men 
friends of hers visited it one night, strolling from 
place to place. We had dinner and danced at the 
‘Greenwich Village Inn’ and went also to the ‘Black 
Cat’ and the ‘Pirates’ Den’—the pirates there were 
rather tame, though.” 

“Wouldn’t you like to return to America, to New 
York, to the Village, in company of a great admirer 
of yours?” 

“I do not know who that could be,” turning her 
head away from him. 

“Assume that he would be sitting at present at 
your side, holding your hand.” 

Sana tried to withdraw her hand at this, but Carl 
held it the tighter. He leaned toward her, taking 
the other hand too, and whispered softly, “Sana, 
dear, look at me. Ever since I met you on the 
bridge that afternoon you have filled my dreams. I 
despaired of ever seeing you again, and life did not 
seem worth the living. When I saw you again last 
night it was in a dream. Thoughts of you kept me 
awake all night. Will you return to America as my 



UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


144 

wife? You know I love you and love you dearly. 
And I think you care for me too.” 

The girl was a little uneasy, as if at a loss to know 
what to do or say. Her gaze ranged the distant 
horizon as she slowly replied, “You may be right 
with regard to the last—I cannot say. But I will 
admit I couldn’t sleep last night myself. That we 
should meet here I do not understand.” 

“Sana, dear, answer my question,” pleaded Carl, 
trying to draw her to him gently. 

The question was never answered, for, with a 
sudden jerk Sana freed one hand and slapped herself 
on the neck. A bee, stunned by the blow, fell into 
her lap. 

Sana made a grimace and touching carefully the 
spot where the bee had left its sting, remarked, “I 
believe it is swelling.” 

Carl now took matters into his own hands. 
Drawing her gently to him, her shoulder against his 
bosom, he studied the red mark, saying, “I don’t 
think it is poisonous, but it certainly is swelling.” 

With Sana’s body quivering in his arms he pressed 
the spot tenderly with his fingers. A sudden thought 
shot through his mind and he added softly, “Let me 
take out the poison.” Without waiting for response 
he bent over her, pressing his lips upon her neck to 
suck out the poison. 



THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 145 

The warmth of her velvet-like flesh made his head 
swim to the music of the gods. 

Sana was blushing a brilliant red, like a poppy, 
Carl thought, and she tried to get free. He held 
her all the closer now; his hand inadvertently upon 
her breast which was, he felt, beginning to move 
stormily. Her resistance did not last long. Soon 
she lay quite still, her shoulder against his bosom. 
His bosom, too, was heaving mightily as he pressed 
his lips tightly against her neck, while Sana slightly 
parted her quivering lips, breathing heavily and 
slowly, her body exhaling a sweet fragrance like the 
aroma of a sun-kissed rose. 

Carl knew it as that of an untouched blossoming 
flower and he was happy! Her heart, under his 
hand, told him too, of her feelings, and lifting his 
lips slightly, he murmured, “Sana, I love you. Be 
mine,” and his cheek brushed against her warm neck. 

His passionate kisses upon her neck startled Sana 
for a moment. She became conscious of his hand 
upon her rising breast, but in her ecstasies of bliss, 
she did not resist. 

Her long drawn breaths became more passionate; 
her limbs were rigid with fire. Finally, stretching 
her body slowly, she turned around in his arms. 
Her loving eyes which had changed from their gray¬ 
ish blue to pure blue, were shining with fire, as she 


146 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

looked at Carl, who holding her before him, whis¬ 
pered, “Honey, dearest, be mine.” 

In answer to his plea, she crept closer to him and 
threw her bare arms around his neck and drew him 
gently closer. But Carl clasping her body fever¬ 
ishly in his arms, held her, looking steadily into her 
starry bright eyes, as if dissecting the passion raging 
in her body, and he drank the breath of her sighing 
emotion. With a soft “my desert star,” his lips cov¬ 
ered her quivering mouth. In a passion of fire, 
clasping their arms still tighter, they experienced 
that moment of ecstatic bliss when passing time 
leaves no trace. Heart to heart, lips to lips, they 
lay there, tight in each other’s arms, in an ecstasy of 
happiness. 

In his glory, Carl could think of nothing more 
sensible to say that “That little bee surely left sweet 
honey upon your neck.” 

“As sweet as me?” she asked mischievously. 

Bending over and kissing her neck once more, he 
answered, “Sweeter than sugar, but only half as 
sweet as you.” With that he showered her neck 
and shoulders with kisses. 

Forgotten in a moment was the past with its many 
trials, unthought of was the future—the present 
alone existed for the two so closely clasped in love’s 
embrace. Those moments of rapture were like pre- 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 147 

meditated bits of eternity. The world and all its 
vain dreams could not give the supreme madness of 
joy which they experienced in silence and solitude. 
The kisses they drank from each other’s lips were 
sweeter than the honey of Hymettus. Their cor¬ 
poral beings seemed to vanish and dissolve away, 
while their souls merged into one whose aspirations 
were boundless, whose thoughts knew not words and 
whose pleasures were not of this earth. 


The sun was high in the heavens when Sana at 
last released herself from Carl’s arms. 

“Come, Carl dear. We must be going. I 
shouldn’t wonder but what mother is already very 
anxious for me.” 

Arm in arm they sauntered homeward, along the 
quiet shore of the Niger—that river of history, 
Sana’s horse following behind them, puzzled, no 
doubt, over the strange being who came and caused 
his mistress to neglect him so. 

They had strolled but a short distance, when they 
heard a woman’s cry. Their soaring flights of fancy 
were brought quickly to earth by the almost un¬ 
earthly yells and shrieks. 

Looking around they perceived a negro girl chas¬ 
ing a large monkey that was running away with her 


148 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

clothing. It had chosen an opportune moment for 
its mischief while the dark damsel was enjoying a 
swim. 

Carl and Sana hurried toward the scene of the 
chase, but as they neared the spot, they saw the mon¬ 
key suddenly turn and attack the girl. Flashes of 
livid flame sparkled maliciously in its small beady 
eyes, as it made the fatal spring. It was about to 
rend the throat of its victim, when it observed Carl 
coming toward it, revolver in hand. Crazed now 
with fear, the animal leaped from the prostrate ne- 
gress and lunged at Carl, its new enemy. A well 
directed shot, and it was over. The hairy thing fell 
dead at Carl’s feet, while the negress, recovering 
from her fear, and embarrassed at the presence of 
the man, got up quickly and without so much as 
stooping to pick up her clothing, rushed away into 
the water, resembling nothing so much as an ani¬ 
mated puppet of ebony. 

Sana’s mother, a gypsy not of the type Carl had 
often seen traveling through America, was waiting 
at the door of her modest home. She greeted Carl 
in friendly fashion when introduced by Sana. She 
had heard of him, she said, and thanked him pro¬ 
fusely for the aid he had given her daughter. 

She was quite surprised when Carl asked her for 
Sana’s hand in marriage. That would be up to Sana 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 149 

entirely, she told him, and if Sana was satisfied she 
would be satisfied also. 

Upon hearing this, Sana threw herself into Carl’s 
arms exclaiming that that had already been settled. 

Much to Carl’s delighted surprise he found that 
his future mother-in-law was a woman of distinct 
culture and refinement, something he had not ex¬ 
pected to see in a gypsy. Together they spoke for 
quite a time, discussing many things of mutual 
interest. 

The talk reverted to Sana’s father, of whom the 
mother had only words of praise. Apparently he 
had tried hard in the last years of his life to make 
up for the foolishness of his youth. Excusing her¬ 
self, Sana’s mother left the room, returning shortly 
with a manuscript in pencil. Handing it to Carl, she 
explained, “My husband wrote this just before his 
death. He was a great student of astronomy and 
this data he compiled as the basis for a book, but he 
died before he could have it published.” 

Noting that Carl perused the manuscript with 
great interest she continued, “You may have it, if 
you wish. I understand you are a writer and it may 
be of inspiration to you. Take it and use it. Per¬ 
haps he who wrote it will sometime know that his 
work did amount to something.” 

Urged by Sana, Carl readily accepted the data, 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


150 

thanking the mother, and promising to read it care¬ 
fully during his travels across the desert. He was 
sure, he said, that it would prove of great help and 
value to him some time. 

Carl was about to take his leave to return to the 
hotel, when Sana, recalling something to mind, said, 
“Mother, read Carl’s hand, please.” 

This the gypsy consented to do, motioning to Sana 
to go out doors, as they would have to be alone. 

“Shall I cross your palm with silver?” Carl 
laughed. 

“No, that is necessary only with professionals.” 

Taking Carl’s hand in hers, she studied the lines 
carefully, and in an earnest tone, began, “I see dan¬ 
ger—great trouble for you—very soon—you are 
going to lose your best friend. Yes. Some man is 
going to take that friend away from you!” 

She paused for a while, then seriously, “You are 
going to have a serious accident, but you will re¬ 
cover. I also see another dark girl coming into your 
life, whom you should not trust. You are going to 
take a long journey across the water, and that girl 
will be with you.” 

Carl, thinking the girl to be Sana, interrupted with 
“What will become of her?” 

“You will cast her away after you have crossed 


THE LOVERS ON THE BEACH 151 

the water and you will have a great deal of worry 
over the other girl, whom you really love.” 

Carl did not know what was what, nor who was 
who, and asked for a description of both girls, to 
which the gypsy replied, “Both are dark haired and 
beautiful. The one means well, the other does not.” 

Carl, desirous to learn as much as he could, asked 
to be told the final outcome, but the only answer he 
got was, “That, one cannot say. But everything will 
turn out as you want it to be.” 

This in a measure satisfied Carl. He knew how 
he wanted things to turn out. At any rate he was 
of too practical turn of mind to give much weight 
to a palm-reading. 

Taking leave of the mother he joined Sana out¬ 
doors. They chatted a while, making plans for a 
trip on horseback the following day. 

After Carl had gone, Sana was told by her 
mother that she was sorry that she had read Carl’s 
future and warned Sana of the danger ahead. 
While Sana believed devoutly in her mother, she 
dismissed the fear that harm might come to herself, 
but she was worried in regard to Carl. 

Upon learning of the proposed excursion into the 
desert the following day, her mother tried to per¬ 
suade Sana not to go, but the girl only answered, 


152 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


“If it is predicted that certain things will happen, 
they will happen; all one can do is to await the 
time and take it good naturedly.” 

Arguments were useless, for Sana simply said, 
“Your reading of the future would not be of any 
value if the happenings you predict could be pre¬ 
vented in time,” adding, with a little smile, “You 
don’t want to be considered a faker, do you dear?” 

To which there was no answer. 










CHAPTER VIII 


IN THE CLUTCHES OF AN AMOROUS 

CAVE MAN 

S ANA in breeches and short riding jacket, stood 
at the side of her restless steed when Carl 
arrived on horseback. It was an ideal day 
for an outing and spiritedly they trotted off to the 
desert. 

Sana was radiantly happy at the prospect of en¬ 
joying the freedom of the desert with her lover. 
Too soon, far too soon, he would have to leave her 
and she was glad to have him alone for the day. 

Her horse, the white Arab, was an exceptionally 
fine but nervous beast. Carl’s mount was a tame 
mare in comparison and Sana teased him, saying, 
“I bet that you cannot catch up with me.” 

“All right. I’ll bet you a kiss,” Carl retorted. 
“But if I win?” 

“It will suit me.” 

“But if I lose?” 

“That will suit me also.” 


153 


154 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


“I must say, you are some sport, Carl. Don’t 
you want to hold the stakes too, so that you will 
surely be on the safe side?” 

With that she chuckled to her horse and it leaped 
ahead with wide swinging strides, leaving Carl to 
follow suit. Try as he would, it was a useless task. 
He had to content himself with the dust clouds from 
the flying heels of the Arab, as it carried Sana far 
ahead over the burning sands. 

A few miles of this and Sana slowed up a bit, so 
that Carl might catch up with her. With a smile 
she reminded him of his lost wager, which Carl 
promptly paid her with interest. 

Proceeding again, they moved swiftly northward 
over the level plain. Here and there they came 
upon an isolated group of palm trees and small 
bushes, partly burned up by the hot rays of the 
desert sun. Otherwise, there was nothing but sand 
before them and a clear cloudless sky overhead. 
But the sand and the heat mattered not to the lov¬ 
ers, as riding side by side, they paved the road of 
their future with bricks of shining gold! 

At last it was time for them to turn back. Sana 
knew of a shorter route home and suggested that 
they take it. 

They trotted along for several hours, when Carl 
saw a dwelling in the distance. As they drew nearer 



Enjoying the freedom of the great desert, they paved the road 
of their future with bricks of shining gold. 


155 
















156 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

they heard strains of music and Sana suggested go¬ 
ing in and asking for refreshments. 

At the gate a Berber woman asked them what 
they wanted. Sana told her, whereupon she led 
them into a dimly lighted room. They found places 
on the floor, apart from a group that sat near a 
small platform, at the side of which lounged a fierce 
looking fellow, playing a strange musical instrument. 

Wine and cakes being served, they paused to 
watch a dancer who had stepped on the platform. 
The dancer, a girl of hardly sixteen, was very scant¬ 
ily clad and her dance consisted mainly of twistings 
of the body, accompanied with meaningful flashes of 
the eyes. At first she seemed rather timid, but at 
the shout “Cintani, put some life in it,” she distorted 
her body until there was no doubt as to the meaning 
of the emotions she was endeavoring to express— 
much to the delight of the Arabs in the room. 

The one whose command she had so eagerly 
obeyed was, as Sana whispered to Carl, Amshied, a 
Berber chieftain, and the three husky females at his 
side were known to be his consorts. 

After the dancer had gone, the musician placed 
a snake on the platform. He then commenced to 
charm it with the whistling of a fife, to which the 
snake responded readily, much to the surprise of 
Carl, who, not believing it would be noticed in the 


IN THE CLUTCHES OF A CAVE MAN 157 

darkness, took Sana’s hand and pressing it to his 
lips, said, “That is more than a man can do to a 
woman.” 

His act, however, was noticed by Amshied, who 
turning to his women said, in a low voice, “Watch 
that pair. One of them is a woman. If I am right, 
I know who she is and who wants her. At any rate 
they shall not leave. I’ll take care of the woman, 
and you three can share the man.” 

Saying this, he arose from the floor and went into 
another room, where he knew de Rochelle was wait¬ 
ing. Motioning de Rochelle to the door, he nodded 
at Sana, asking, “Is that the one you spoke of this 
morning?” 

“Yes. Can you manage to secure her?” 

“Have I not managed many things? It shall be 
done. But first the gold.” 

De Rochelle paid him his price and sat down to 
wait, believing that at last Sana was in his hands. 
Little knew he, however, of the plans lurking in 
Amshied’s skull. 

When Amshied returned to his place, he spoke a 
few curt words to the women, who now stepped to 
the platform and performed amazing feats of 
strength, revealing the while their muscular limbs 
and bodies. 


158 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

Sana was astounded and turned to Carl, saying, 
“They are regular amazons—desert amazons.” 

This exhibition finished, Carl looked at his watch 
and seeing that it was quite late, helped Sana up 
from the floor and prepared to leave. 

Seeing this, Amshied stepped forward, as if to 
escort them to the door. 

Stepping on a small carpet, Sana and Carl felt the 
floor beneath them give way. Carl made a vain 
effort to throw Sana to safety, but failed when Am¬ 
shied gave him a shove that sent man and woman 
headlong into the pit beneath. Their fall was 
broken by a heap of rugs beneath the trap, so that 
neither suffered any physical harm. The room in 
which they found themselves was in total darkness. 
Besides, it was filled with a suffocating smoke that 
crept into their lungs, burning and stifling them. In 
vain they sought means of escape, falling at last in¬ 
sensible to the ground. 

Some minutes later, or so it seemed to him, Carl, 
who, although he had recovered his senses was un¬ 
able to move, owing to the effects of the drugged 
smoke he had inhaled, saw a small door open, 
through which entered Amshied and the three 
women. The chieftain tossed Sana, who was still 
unconscious, over his shoulder, as if she were a mere 


IN THE CLUTCHES OF A CAVE MAN 159 

bundle of rugs and carried her off, whither Carl 
knew not. 

As for himself, he was left to the mercies of the 
three amazons. Chatting gaily among themselves, 
in a language unknown to Carl, they carried him up¬ 
stairs to a small room. Here they threw him upon a 
rough couch like bed, fastening his legs and arms 
with shackles attached to the four legs. 

Helpless, he lay there, thinking of what would 
happen to his beloved. What fate was in store for 
her? Desperately he struggled to free himself from 
his chains, but it was useless. He was as helpless 
as a pig trussed for the butcher’s knife. 

To his disgust, his own position was brought 
clearly home to him, when the three women corm 
menced pawing over his body, in the same way as 
one would examine an animal on the auction block. 
Resist he could not; he was forced to submit to their 
intimate inspection, which, he thanked his stars, did 
not last long. Satisfied as to his physical make-up, 
the women suddenly assumed various poses about 
his couch, vying with each other for Carl’s attention. 
Carl, however, rolled his head from side to side, 
closing his eyes to convey to them as clearly as he 
could his desire to have nothing to do with them. 

Determined they were, however, to show their 


160 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


charms to their captive. One by one they came over 
to his corner, each trying harder than the other to 
arouse in him some indication of desire. Carl man¬ 
aged to keep his eyes tightly closed for a time, but 
his thoughts were too bewildered, his mind too much 
filled with Sana, to allow him to do so long. Open¬ 
ing his eyes, he saw one of the women still moving 
around before him. With a rage caused by disgust, 
Carl gave vent to a string of oaths. These had the 
desired effect. Perhaps the woman did not under¬ 
stand their meaning, but the meaning of his voice 
was clear. At any rate she decided not to make him 
any angrier and left through a small side door and 
bolted it. 

He lay gazing around the room as best he could. 
Did that drapery in the far corner move? He 
watched closely. Yes, it was moving. What now? 
It was pushed aside, and through a small opening 
crept a figure. A woman, he perceived, but who? 
Coming into the light he recognized the dancer 
whom the Berber had called Cintani. Was he to go 
through another ordeal of the kind he had just been 
subjected to? 

Maddened by his helplessness, he was about to 
scream out a curse, when the girl whispered, in poor 
French, “Keep quiet—I will help you.” 

Tip-toe she crept towards him. To his relief, 


IN THE CLUTCHES OF A CAVE MAN 161 

Carl saw that she had other intentions than to charm 
him. From her girdle he saw her take a key. With 
quick fingers the shackles were unlocked and Carl 
set up, free! 

He could but look his thanks—he had no time for 
words, for again, with cautioning finger the slave- 
girl whispered, “The girl—the one you came with, 
come!” 

Taking Carl’s arms she led him across the room, 
stopping before a great rug, suspended curtain-wise 
from the ceiling. 

“In there,” she whispered, and was gone. 

Carefully Carl moved the rug aside. It concealed 
a heavy wooden door. And on the other side! 

Peering through a small hole in the door Carl 
saw Sana lying on a heap of cushions, while Am- 
shied, back to Carl, knelt beside her, caressing and 
fondling her. Sana was still happily insensible to 
her predicament. 

With an effort, Carl suppressed a cry. He felt 
for his revolver. He recalled, then, that the women 
had taken it away from him. He looked about the 
room. Not a thing that would serve as a weapon 
was to be had. 

He tried the door. To his relief it was unlocked. 
Slowly he slid it open. A low growl, coming from 
somewhere at his side made him jump back in alarm. 



162 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


No, there was nothing in the room with him. Again 
a growl, accompanied with the sniffing of an animal. 
Desperate, Carl pulled the rug aside. To his horror 
he saw an iron-barred door, behind which, stretched 
full length on the floor, lay a huge Nubian lion—the 
black lion of the deserts—the king of the lion tribe. 
Should the lion roar or spring at the door, Carl 
realized with a flash, all was lost. Amshied would 
be aroused from his sensual desires, and all hope of 
rescue would disappear. To his amazement, the 
lion merely yawned and blinked his eyes. Often had 
he seen just such a scared human at the other side of 
his door. No need of hurrying, no need of wasting 
breath. Sooner or later the feast would be his! 

The two doors were connected at the top by an 
iron rod, so fixed that when either door was slid 
open the other opened also. Carl saw at a glance 
that he could slide the one door and get into the 
other room before the lion had time to get out, for 
as soon as he was through he could close the door 
against the lion. But, he reasoned, suppose the lion 
did manage to squeeze through while he was getting 
into the other room. Then if there was no other 
available exit out of the other room, things would be 
worse than before. He would be trapped. 

What could he do? Once more his gaze roamed 
about the room. His eyes rested on the couch. 



IN THE CLUTCHES OF A CAVE MAN 163 

Yes, that might answer. His fears for Sana gave 
him speed. It was but the work of a moment to 
get that couch and prop it upright against the door 
of the den. Fortunately for Carl the workmanship 
of the door was none too good. Near the floor the 
masonry had fallen away, exposing the bars of the 
framework. Unmindful of the sniffing lion, Carl 
forced the chains nearest the door through the bars, 
secured the chains and brought them through to his 
side of the cage. The suddenness of his movements 
took the lion unawares, and it made no move at 
Carl, but drew slightly back in fright. The locks 
were snapped and Carl stood up to contemplate his 
work. It might do? But he had his doubts. What 
would happen when he opened the door to get at 
Amshied? 

As he pondered for a moment, a cry came to his 
ears. Sana had awakened from her stupor to find 
the grinning face of Amshied close to hers. 

With a smothered cry, Carl slid the door aside 
sufficiently to squeeze through and sprang into the 
room. 

The lust-ridden Berber had partly torn Sana’s 
clothing from her, and was forcing his attentions 
upon her. The girl, horrified with fear, tried to free 
herself from his grip. 

But a whirlwind was upon him. He had no time 


164 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

to get to his feet nor make any attempt to defend 
himself. With a fierce lunge Carl literally threw 
himself upon Amshied, forcing him to the floor. 

Although taken by surprise as he was, Amshied 
was no weakling. Carl soon found this out when 
with a violent twist of his body Amshied rolled 
over and clutched at Carl’s throat. With a trick 
learned at school Carl broke the hold, but Amshied 
was endowed with brute strength and he seized Carl 
around the body with both arms. Together they 
rolled across the floor, bringing up with a thud 
against the door. 

They lay in deathlike embrace for a moment, 
panting from their exertions. Carl realized that 
Amshied was more than his match so far as mere 
strength was concerned. To overcome his antago¬ 
nist he would have to resort to trickery. Heaving 
a deep sigh, as if utterly exhausted and unable to 
continue, he let his body relax. To his delight, 
Amshied was fooled completely. Believing Carl to 
be done for, he released his hold for a moment. 
Brief though this respite was, it was sufficient for 
Carl. Feeling the arms loosen ever so slightly, he 
suddenly twisted around, and with a quick movement 
of his knees had lifted Amshied, throwing him heav¬ 
ily on his side. At the same time Carl pinned his 
opponent with a neck lock, and rolling him over, 



The Berber struggled fiercely to free himself from the encircling 
arm that was slowly choking him to death. 


165 






























































































166 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


placed his knee in the small of Amshied’s back and 
pressed. 

Amshied struggled fiercely to free himself from 
the encircling arm that was slowly choking him tc 
death. His efforts, however, were useless. Carl 
hung on with a desperate strength. 

Slowly the other weakened, his breathing became 
more and more strained under the pressure on his 
throat and back. At last his body relaxed. Appar¬ 
ently he was unconscious. But Carl took no chances. 
Still retaining his grip, he rose to his feet. Then 
with a mighty heave he threw the senseless man to 
the further end of the small room, where he fell in 
a huddled heap to the floor. Carl noted, then, that 
Amshied’s head was grotesquely twisted to one side. 
He would bother them no more! 

Carl rushed to Sana, who had watched the strug¬ 
gle with bated breath. He sought to take her in his 
arms to carry her to freedom. But freedom was not 
to be theirs so soon. The three amazons were upon 
them. With wild shrieks they attacked Carl, who, 
not caring whether they were women or not, let them 
have the full force of his blows. Sana was at his 
side, with scratching nails and kicking feet. An¬ 
other, too, came to their aid. Cintani coming 


IN THE CLUTCHES OF A CAVE MAN 167 

through the door, saw the struggle and with eager 
fists did her best to help. 

The amazons soon had enough of fighting and 
with wild cries ran from the room, followed by Carl, 
Sana in his arms. His thoughts, now, were only to 
get away from that devilish place. Cintani, running 
at his side, grasped his arm and led him through a 
door out into the open. Smoke was pouring from 
the house. Someone had set it afire. 

Their horses were still tied to a palm, nearby. 
Sana asked to be set down, and doing so, Carl did 
not notice the half-naked savage who crept up be¬ 
hind him, felling him senseless to the ground with 
a blow of a club. 

Before Sana or the slave-girl could make any at¬ 
tempt to escape the savage, now joined by three 
others, was upon them. Struggle as they would 
they were helpless in the hands of these men. Sana 
had often heard stories of the cave-men who were 
said to live in the hills of the desert. Could it be 
possible that these four savages were such? Noth¬ 
ing seemed to fit them better than that name. 

If they were men they surely did not look the 
part. They resembled monkeys more than anything 
else. Squat, long armed and covered with hair, they 
looked like giant denizens of a tropical forest. 
Their protruding jaws displayed tusk-like teeth, 


168 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


while their receding foreheads ran back to red wool¬ 
like hair that covered their heads, shoulders and 
upper back. 

Uttering growls, that sounded as unhuman as they 
looked, the larger of the four men, evidently the 
leader, took Sana up in his arms and started off. 
One of the others threw Cintani across his shoulders 
as if she were but an animal that had fallen victim 
to the chase. 

Like a gift from heaven, unconsciousness came to 
Sana. 

Carl, lying unconscious for several hours, came 
to in the early hours of the morning. Under the 
bright gleam of the desert stars he saw nothing but 
a heap of ashes and charred timbers—the remains 
of Amshied’s dwelling. 

His head still reeling from the blow he had re¬ 
ceived, he crawled to his feet and looked around 
for some sight of his beloved one. With a shock, 
he discovered in the ruins, several charred skeletons, 
totally beyond point of recognition. Carefully he 
studied them, going from one to the other in an at¬ 
tempt to find something by which to identify them. 

Bewildered he stood up, kicking the ashes aside 
with the toe of his boot. Good God, what was 
that? Sana’s necklace! He stooped to examine 
his find. Yes, it was the necklace Sana had worn 


IN THE CLUTCHES OF A CAVE MAN 169 

that morning when she started out on the ride with 
him. He was positive it was the same, for he had 
examined it closely then, commenting upon its 
uniqueness. Was this then the end of Sana—the 
end of life itself? Among those charred bones, he 
believed, lay all that was earthly of the woman he 
loved! 

Heart heavy with anguish, his body trembling as 
with the ague, he knelt in prayer. The words came 
slowly—it was years since he had prayed—but in his 
heart he knew what he wanted to say. 

With shaking hands he scooped a shallow grave 
in the sand, and in it placed the remains of the 
bodies. He must be sure that Sana’s body found a 
grave. The tears streamed from his eyes as he 
carefully filled that last resting-place. The heaviest 
timbers he could find he laid across the grave, lest 
some prowling beast of the night should disturb the 
bodies. Above the little mound he fashioned a rude 
cross, from two smaller pieces of charred timber, 
and with a pencil he printed a marker on a piece of 
paper and pinned it to the cross. 

Unmindful of the terrific heat of the desert sun 
which beat down upon him, he stumbled on, in a 
direction he believed would take him to the city. 
Luck was with him. Late that afternoon he reached 
Sana’s home, wild-eyed and fever-tortured. 



170 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


Sana’s mother saw at a glance that some terrible 
accident had happened. But Carl’s parched lips 
craved water, and putting her fears aside for the 
moment she wet his lips, bathed his dust-covered 
face and let him drink. 

Then he spoke. Slowly he told the story. The 
old mother seemed to age before his eyes, as she 
moaned, “Sana, my child. Did I not warn you?” 
between her tears, as she sat rocking to and fro on 
the floor. 

The minutes grew into hours and the two still sat 
there in silence—a silence broken only by the moans 
of the mother and a frequent sob or sigh from the 
man. 

At last Carl roused himself from his lethargy. 
The desert fever had spent itself—his mind was 
once more clear, but his heart was heavy laden. 

“What should he do? Whither was he going?” 
ran through his mind as he stood up from his chair. 

As if reading this thought, the gypsy spoke, “You 
have your work to do. It was willed that this should 
happen. It is also written that you must do your 
duty. Your caravan leaves tomorrow. Join it and 
peace be with you.” 

“Yes, that is best. I could not stay here now.” 

He bade her a sad farewell and going to his hotel 
finished his preparations for the journey. This over 



IN THE CLUTCHES OF A CAVE MAN 171 

with, he threw himself, fully clad, upon the bed to 
while away those long dreadful hours before the 
dawn. 

Sana returned to consciousness to find that the 
cavemen had camped for the night in a valley 
formed by the sand dunes. To her great relief, 
they did not bother about her or Cintani, but sat 
apart from them chattering in guttural tones, later 
to lie down to sleep. 

Early next morning, the girls were again picked 
up and the savages set out with them for their home 
in the hills. The very thought of being clutched so 
tightly in the arms of the beast-like man, who held 
her close to him robbed her of all consciousness and 
she knew nothing of her travels until she came to 
with a start, lying on the ground with bound feet, 
surrounded by a strange group of men, women and 
children, in front of a large cave. The women and 
children, like the men, of whom Sana saw five, wore 
little or no clothing. 

Physically, the women were better proportioned 
than the men, but they too looked more like animals 
than human beings. The women, however, had 
taken some pains to appear attractive to their men. 
One had a green feather stuck in her hair, while 
another had chosen a bunch of twigs for a headdress. 


i 7 2 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

All of them wore a chain of shells around their 
necks. 

She and Cintani were subjected to close inspection 
on the part of the women, accompanied by guttural 
growls from the men, who would shove the women 
aside, now and then, with sweeping blows of the 
arm. 

The curiosity of the band satisfied, the leader, 
who had evidently chosen Sana for his own, picked 
her up and carried her into the cave. This was 
quite large, one side of the floor being strewn with 
the skins of wild animals. On these Sana was 
thrown. The savage walked away, but returned and 
sat down at her side. 

With leering eyes he contemplated her figure, 
growling in a fearful manner. Sana could not un¬ 
derstand his words, but shivered as she realized the 
meaning of his gestures. He reached over to untie 
her feet, but the touch of his rough hands on her 
limbs made her desperate. Summoning her strength, 
she kicked him in the side. 

With what might have been a chuckle, he rose to 
his feet and walked to the other end of the cave. 
Returning with a club he shook it at the girl and 
threw it down at her side. Fearing an attack, Sana, 
covering her face with her hands, shrieked pitifully. 

The cave-man, however, made no attempt to 


IN THE CLUTCHES OF A CAVE MAN 173 

touch her, but after looking at her for a time, turned 
and left the cave. 

Greatly relieved, Sana drew herself up to a sitting 
position and looked around the cave. In the gloom 
she could see little, but she noticed that on the walls 
behind her were drawings of animals, while here and 
there were bows and arrows lying among the skins 
on the floor. 

A sound came to her ears, and looking in the di¬ 
rection from which it came, she could distinguish in 
the gloom of the cavern, a young woman tending a 
new-born babe. 

The mother paid no attention to Sana, nor was 
she disturbed the rest of the day. 

With nightfall, however, the whole band entered 
the cave, bringing Cintani with them. Cintani was 
thrown to the floor at Sana’s side, while the others, 
men, women and children, lay down in huddled 
heaps to sleep. 

Sana’s first words to Cintani were, “Where did 
those brutes come from?” 

“About a week ago Amshied and his gang, who 
luckily were away, when you were there, returned 
with them. What he wanted to do with them, I do 
not know, but he kept them locked up in a room. 
I believe he was afraid of them himself. They must 
have escaped in the fire.” 


174 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


“But what will become of us?” 

“I believe I have a way. I had no love for Am- 

shied. I was sold to him as a slave. One day I 

stole a vial of poison, intending to kill myself. My 
courage failed me, but ever since that day I have 

carried it with me. I have it now. If I ever get the 

chance I shall poison them.” 

“If you only could. But how could we get away 
from here? We would never find our way.” 

“But our horses are here. I saw them. They 
brought them along too.” 

Overjoyed with these words, Sana started to say 
something, but was interrupted by the arrival of one 
of the men, who taking Cintani in his arms, carried 
her to the darkness of the other side of the cave. 

Shutting her eyes, Sana put her hands over her 
ears to keep out any sound. Suddenly she was 
aware of someone at her side. Horrified, she felt 
a pair of hands steal over her. Looking, she saw 
her captor lying at her side. Without a word he 
reached down and released her feet. Again those 
hands upon her! With a cry she rolled over on her 
face, fearful of her fate. Much to her surprise the 
savage, after a few attempts to fondle her, retied 
her feet and hitting her some glancing blows, he 
shuffled off into the darkness. 

Exhausted though she was, Sana lay awake the 


IN THE CLUTCHES OF A CAVE MAN 175 

entire night. Fear kept her from sleeping, fear of 
what might happen. 

At daybreak the savages left the cave, taking Cin- 
tani with them. Sana they did not bother about, 
although one of the men stopped to stare at her on 
his way out. 

Try as she would she could not keep awake any 
longer. Sleep came, dreamless sleep! 

Some one was shaking her gently. Rousing her¬ 
self, Sana looked up. Cintani was bending over her, 
smiling happily. 

“We are safe now, dear. The poison has done 
its work.” 

Sana, comforted, yet surprised, “How did you 
do it?” 

Tears welled in the girl’s eyes as she brokenly 
whispered, “After what happened last night I sup¬ 
posed the women considered me one of them. They 
made me help with the food. That gave me my 
chance.” 

Sana wanted to take the weeping girl in her arms, 
but Cintani would not let her. 

“There is no time to be lost,” she urged, “Come, 
let us get out of this. I have food and water.” 

Once out of the cave, Sana saw that Cintani was 
right. The cave people were lying on the ground, 
apparently asleep, but theirs was an eternal slumber. 


176 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

With delighted eyes, Sana saw the two horses. 
Quickly the girls mounted and rode off in the clear 
moonlight. Sana gave her horse his head, knowing 
that his instinct would tell him the way. 

All that night their swift mounts put the miles 
under their feet. The desert stars, which had 
guided Sana, had disappeared and the sun, coming 
up from behind the dunes, saw the two girls riding 
wildly homeward, till night fell, then they rested 
for a few hours. Early in the morning they started 
out again. 

Suddenly Sana’s horse shied at something lying 
on the ground. A man was lying in the sand, face 
upward, writhing in the fever of thirst. Dismount¬ 
ing, Sana saw at a glance it was de Rochelle. He 
pleaded for help. At first she was tempted to ride 
on and leave him to his fate. But a kindlier thought 
prompted her to reach for her canteen which still 
hung intact at the saddle. 

After administering a little water to the suffering 
man, she and Cintani managed to lift him across her 
horse and again they resumed their way. 

Late in the afternoon the following day they came 
upon the remains of the Berber’s house. 

Sana dismounted, looking about for some trace 
of Carl, whom she had seen felled with the blow 
of the caveman’s club. No sign of him was to be 



Their swift 
across a man 


mounts put the miles under feet, when they came 
lying in the sand, writhing in the fever of thirst. 


177 



















178 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

seen, but she presently became aware of a figure 
kneeling before a cross of charred timbers. 

She saw it was a woman, and walking quickly 
towards her gave voice to the cry, “Mother!” 

At the sound the woman took her hands from her 
face, and rising to her feet, shrieked, “Sana, my 
Sana!” 

Mother and daughter embraced each other, tears 
in their eyes, murmuring words of endearment. 

Sana, at last, eager for news of Carl, asked her 
mother whether she had seen or heard of him. In 
response the mother pointed to the cross—to which 
was pinned a note. Sana, stricken with fear that 
Carl was beneath the ruins, rushed to the cross, and 
taking the paper in her hand, read: 

HERE LIES MY BELOVED 
SANA VON SECKT 
REST IN PEACE 

CARL 

“Then he is alive?” turning to her mother with 
eager eyes. 

“L es, beloved, he is alive. He is now on the 
great desert. He thought you dead and came to 
tell me. Then he went away.” 

De Rochelle, still weak and exhausted, had gotten 
from the horse, and came over to Sana. 


IN THE CLUTCHES OF A CAVE MAN 179 

“Sana, I did not believe you would ever do me 
the kindness you did. Please forgive me for what 
I have done. It was I who set fire to this place. I 
realized that harm might come to you through Am- 
shied, so I set fire to the house, thinking I could help 
you in that way. I saw the savages take you away, 
and tried to follow, but fell exhausted. Please, for¬ 
give me, Sana, won’t you?” 

Without a word Sana turned away. Plead he 
might, but her forgiveness he would never have. 
The water she gave him on the desert, she felt, re¬ 
paid him well enough—had she refused it, he would 
now have been claimed by the sun and the sand as 
their own. And in her woman’s mind she knew that 
he had more to do with the escapade at the home of 
Amshied than he cared to tell. 

Safe at home that night she wrote Carl at his 
New York address, telling him that she was alive. 


CHAPTER IX 


ON CAMEL’S BACK THROUGH THE 

SAHARA 

M EANWHILE at sunrise on the day of 
his departure, Carl had gone to the mar¬ 
ket place to join the caravan. Among 
the crowd that gathered there, at the very time the 
caravan set out, he found Sana’s mother, who had 
come to bid him goodbye. 

From one of the tourists he learned that the cara¬ 
van would lead over Tandini and Tenduf to Moga- 
dor in Morocco. This, he recalled, was the route 
followed by the crusaders of Islam, when they wan¬ 
dered through the desert lands, to preach Moham- 
medism with fire and sword. 

The caravan itself consisted of some twenty-five 
racing camels, the true ships of the desert, capable 
of making from sixty to eighty miles a day. Besides 
th ese there were four freight camels, each loaded 
with about four hundred pounds of food and water, 
the latter being especially important, as for days 
they would not pass any wells. 


180 


ON CAMEL’S BACK THROUGH SAHARA 181 

Carl had noted with a smile that the tourists as 
well as the guides were dressed in Berber outfits; 
wide skirts and the gaily striped burnus, with its big 
collar. He saw, too, that there were several French 
officers in uniform in the party. 

Like himself, everyone in the party was well 
armed. The guides, as well as some of the tourists, 
were provided with bandoliers of cartridges and car¬ 
ried rifles, while he noticed several of the others, not 
so visibly equipped, adjust cartridge belts and hol¬ 
sters. Taking the hint, he saw to it that his own 
automatic was fully loaded and his spare clips read¬ 
ily accessible. 

Such precautions were necessary, of course, to 
enable them to repulse the attacks of any wild ani¬ 
mals that, through pangs of hunger, might become 
daring enough to attack the travelers. To be 
dreaded, too, were the attacks of the bandits roving 
the sand hills. The chieftains of the larger bandit 
tribes had already received the regular tribute from 
the famous sheik Tan Jajidani, who in turn would 
be doubly paid by the wealthy merchant who fur¬ 
nished the camel and ran the show. While these 
would be satisfied to let the caravan in peace, there 
might be others not so inclined. 

At last, with a great hullabaloo, the caravan was 
under way. 


182 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


At first Carl experienced much discomfort, but he 
found that by relaxing and allowing his body to 
sway with the jogging steps of the camel, it wasn t 
as bad as he had expected. 

Far ahead of the caravan rode two guides, whose 
duty it was to lead the way, and at the same time 
keep a sharp watch for unfriendly visitors. 

Long before the main body of travelers would 
reach a village or camp, the inhabitants would 
swarm out to meet them, offering fruit or drink for 
sale, while at friendly camps water was offered to 
every one. To refuse to drink was considered an 
unfriendly act, and the guides cautioned all to be 
sure to partake of the hospitality. 

Otherwise the journey that day was uneventful. 
There was nothing, outside of a few tiny camps or 
villages, to greet the eye but sand, desert sand. 

Tents were pitched that night under the desert 
stars. The campfire gave forth a grateful warmth, 
for the night air was bitter cold. Carl was sorry 
that he was not outfitted with a woolen burnus, but 
knowing he would have to be up at daybreak, was 
soon comfortable between his blankets. 

With the first rays of the sun peeping over the 
horizon, the caravan broke camp. Carl was amazed 
at the speed with which the camels were saddled or 
loaded, the tents folded away, and the caravan got- 


ON CAMEL’S BACK THROUGH SAHARA 183 

ten on its way, accompanied by the singing of the 
guides and the jingle of the lead-camel’s bells. 

Thinking of Sana, he recalled of the manuscript 
he had taken with him. 

He would have the whole day to himself, with 
nothing to do, so he took it from his pocket to read. 
The manuscript, written in a careful hand, was en¬ 
titled, “The Conception of Our Universe.” 

• i • • • • • 

Two hundred years before Christ, the great math¬ 
ematician Archimedes said, “Give me a fulcrum and 
I will move the earth!” 

Our earth is a huge ball, about eight thousand 
miles in diameter and it weighs some six hundred 
trillion or sextillion tons. (To remember this place 
twenty-one ciphers after the six—6,000,000,000,- 
000,000,000,000.) It is composed of rock, sand 
and water. Seventy-three per cent., or about three- 
quarters, of the earth is water—the balance, twenty- 
seven per cent., or about one-quarter, is solid mat¬ 
ter, that is, rock or sand. 

The entire surface of the earth measures nearly 
two hundred million square miles and in contents 
the earth is about two hundred and sixty billion cubic 
miles. 

The earth is covered with a thin envelope of air 
and clouds which travels with the earth. If such was 


184 under teie desert stars 

not the case, a balloon rising in Europe could stay 
up three hours, and without moving from its posi¬ 
tion, land in North America. Furthermore, if the 
air blanket did not travel with the earth, it is prob¬ 
able that the earth would burn up, since the friction 
between the earth’s surface and the air would de¬ 
velop great heat, a heat in which nothing could live. 

The earth traveling in a magnetic field like that of 
a huge dynamo, speeds around its own imaginary 
axis, which lies at an angle of 23*4 degrees, once in 
twenty-four hours. This is at a speed, when one 
stands at the Equator, say in North Africa, of more 
than a thousand miles per hour, whereas a few feet 
from the poles, the speed is not more than nineteen 
feet in twenty-four hours. 

As it whirls around itself, the earth rushes 
through space in orbital motion, in an easterly direc¬ 
tion around the sun, at a velocity of eighteen and a 
half miles per second, or six hundred and sixty-six 
thousand miles per hour, a speed that is about fifty 
times as great as that of the swiftest cannon ball. 
We earth people are entirely unconscious of this mo¬ 
tion, since it is perfectly steady and without a jar. 

Once in a year, that is in a little more than three 
hundred and sixty-five days, we travel around the 
sun, but remain away from that planet at a distance 
of about ninety-two million miles. 


ON CAMEL’S BACK THROUGH SAHARA 185 

As we look upward at the sky at night we see, in 
all directions, the countless stars. Most pronounced 
among them and looking much the same, though of 
a different nature, are the planets and once in a while 
a comet. A few faintly shining clouds are seen— 
the Milky Way and Nebulae. 

The most striking, and yet the most insignificant 
of them all is the moon. 

During that period known as “day” to us the sun 
alone is visible, flooding the air with its light and 
thereby hiding all other heavenly bodies from the 
vision of the unaided eye—a few of them being 
visible through a telescope. 

These heavenly bodies, for the most part, are 
globes like the earth. They whirl on their axes and 
move swiftly through space. They are classified as 
the solar system, made up of the sun, the planets 
which move round the sun and the satellites, which, 
in turn, attend the planets in their motion around 
the sun. Thus the moon attends the earth when the 
earth travels around the sun. 

The sun, ninety-two million miles away from the 
earth, is a hot self-luminous globe, with a diameter 
of eight hundred and sixty-six thousand five hundred 
miles, or one hundred nine and one-half times that 
of the earth. The temperature at the sun surface 
has been calculated to range between ten and fifteen 



186 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

thousand degrees Fahrenheit—a heat we cannot 
conceive. 

Unlike the earth and the other planets, the sun, 
the center of our universe, is stationary; but it ro¬ 
tates on its own axis, inclined at seven and one-quar¬ 
ter degrees, once in twenty-seven and a half days. 
This motion has been established by observing the 
sun spots. 

These sun spots vary in size from five hundred to 
fifty thousand miles in diameter and a group of such 
spots was found to be one hundred and fifty thou¬ 
sand miles across. They are short-lived phenomena, 
sometimes remaining only a few days but frequently 
a month or two. They appear in their greatest mag¬ 
nitude at periods of eleven years and are the cause 
of extreme drought on earth, with its resultant de¬ 
struction of crops and vegetation, and consequent 
famines. 

While until recently it was believed that the sun 
spots were eruptions on the sun, some astronomers 
now claim that, as the sun spots are cooler than the 
sun, they indicate the downpour of meteoric show¬ 
ers thrown by Jupiter and Saturn into the sun, 
thereby increasing the heat radiating from the sun. 

The sun spots manifest themselves in world-wide 
heat waves, earthquakes, tidal waves, cloud bursts, 
floods, water spouts, hailstorms and hurricanes in 


ON CAMEL’S BACK THROUGH SAHARA 187 

many widely separated parts of the earth. History 
has never seen the equal of the destruction caused 
by the last phenomena. A glance at a few of the re¬ 
cent disasters and natural phenomena shows the 
following: 

The volcanoes Villarion, Liaima and Lanin 
spouted flames more than a thousand feet from their 
craters, while the activities of other volcanoes killed 
thousands of people. Six new craters opened in 
Mount Isalco, Salvador; the volcano Killauca in 
Hawaii spouted mountains of lava, which darkened 
the sky and earthquakes shook many parts of the 
earth. During the last three thousand years thir¬ 
teen million people have met their deaths by volcano 
and earthquake. 

Cyclones, hailstorms and floods wiped out many 
towns in various parts of the world; in Pueblo alone 
they caused damage aggregating more than ten mil¬ 
lion dollars. Many lives were lost in waterspouts, 
which destroyed part of Tangier, Morocco, and in 
the Maia-Doura province in Spain. 

Heat caused the glaciers of the Alps to melt and 
move at an alarming speed, while lakes in Switzer¬ 
land dried up, exposing their bottoms and showing 
foundations of the homes of the lake-dwellers living 
there thousands of years ago. 

While the sun is the nearest of the stars, the moon 


188 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


is the nearest of the heavenly bodies. It is about 
two hundred and forty thousand miles from the 
earth and has a diameter of about twenty-two hun¬ 
dred miles, or about one-quarter that of the earth. 
The moon, accompanying the earth in its movement 
around the sun, rotates on its axis once in twenty- 
nine and a half days and moves in a small orbit, once 
in twenty-seven and a third days, around the earth 
at a speed of nearly twenty-three hundred miles per 
hour. The moon shines merely by reflected light 
from the sun, whose light is six hundred thousand 
times brighter than that of the moon. The moon 
has a temperature of two hundred degrees below 
zero, Fahrenheit. 

The surface of the moon structure, for the most 
part, is extremely broken. There are hills or moun¬ 
tains, but the surface is pitted all over with great 
“craters,” ranging from fifty to one hundred miles 
in diameter; there being a few with a diameter of 
more than one thousand miles. A counterpart of 
this is hardly to be found on our earth, yet it is be¬ 
lieved that the moon was once part of this earth, 
becoming separated from the parent body by the 
tremendous centrifugal force of the earth; as it is 
likewise assumed that Jupiter will in time throw off 
its “great red spot” thus forming a new moon of 
Jupiter. 


ON CAMEL’S BACK THROUGH SAHARA 189 

It is believed that the planet Mars, which has 
two moons, is inhabited and that it has great irri¬ 
gation canals, which engineers say are far superior 
to any irrigation system on earth. During the last 
sun spot period wireless signals were supposed to 
have been received from Mars. 

From time to time, bodies very different from the 
stars and planets appear in the heavens, remaining 
visible for some weeks or months and then vanish 
in the distance. These are the comets. The larger 
ones are magnificent objects, sometimes as bright as 
Venus and visible by day, with a head as large as 
the moon and having a train or tail extending behind 
it from the horizon to the zenith and which is in 
reality long enough to reach from the earth to the 
sun. 

Such comets, however, are rare, and in ancient and 
medieval times comets were always regarded with 
terror—as an evil omen—and at times the people 
believed that they foretold the end of the world, 
causing veritable panics, like the “comet scare” of 
France in 1832. As a rule these comets reappear 
at intervals, such as do Halley’s, Euke’s and Dona- 
ti’s comets. They travel at a tremendous speed, 
coming at times quite close to the earth. Quite often 
they cross the path of the earth, causing fear that 
a collision might take place. There are a few iso- 


190 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

lated cases of comets colliding with the earth and 
killing a few people. Some of the comets have been 
lost, that is we do not know what became of them. 
Such a lost wanderer of the skies is Biela’s comet; 
a comet of some forty thousand miles diameter. In 
its appearances, every sixth and sixteenth year, its 
course would come within a few thousand miles of 
the earth’s orbit. 

Besides the luminous clouds we see in the heavens 
and which, under the telescope are shown to be but 
great groups of separate stars, there are others 
which no telescopic power has as yet been able to dis¬ 
close individually. These are known as nebulae and 
are of varying shape and form and very beautiful 
in appearance. 

Once in a while the earth passes through such a 
nebulae. Some years ago the Heidelberg Observa¬ 
tory reported that the earth was passing through 
some such nebulae, which report was confirmed by 
various other observatories. In that case there was 
no noticeable effect on human life, but it is believed 
by astronomers that some of these nebulae are com¬ 
posed of strong poisonous gases and that if ever the 
earth passes through such a nebulae all life on this 
planet will be destroyed. 

Occasionally bodies fall upon the earth out of the 
sky. These are the meteors. They are not notice- 


ON CAMEL’S BACK THROUGH SAHARA 191 

able until they come within our air zone, when the 
friction between them and the air causes them to 
become red hot, often being entirely consumed by 
the heat before reaching the earth itself. They 
travel through the air zone at a speed ranging from 
ten to forty miles per second, accompanied by a 
heavy continuous roar, emphasized now and then by 
violent detonations. These meteors are solid bodies; 
containing a large percentage of iron and copper and 
single pieces have been found to weigh as much as 
seventy-five thousand pounds. 

It is believed that these meteors are fragments 
which, ages ago, were shot out from now extinct 
volcanoes, with so great a velocity that they were 
thrown out beyond the attraction of the earth, and 
so becoming individual planets or heavenly bodies 
for the time being. Such being the case, they have 
traveled in independent orbits, until they at last en¬ 
countered the earth at a point where her orbit 
crosses theirs. It may also be possible that these 
meteors were thrown from the planets or the stars, 
and as meteoric showers occur at intervals of thirty- 
three to thirty-four years, it is often believed that 
they are connected with comets and that therefore 
the comets, too, must be solid bodies like our earth. 
The number of meteors falling upon the earth adds 


i 9 2 under the desert stars 

continuously to the earth’s mass at a rate of about 
forty thousand tons per year. 

Our earth is older than five hundred million years, 
according to Prof. Morean of Bourges Observatory, 
France, who holds that for half of that time, two 
hundred and fifty million years, some form of life 
has existed on its surface. Man, however, can 
boast of only some ten thousand years of ancestry 
in direct lines. In other words, in the life of this 
little globe he is, even in his most primitive form, a 
very recent arrival. 

The earth was once a hot gaseous mass like the 
sun. Gradually the surface cooled, condensation 
took place forming the lakes and seas and after a 
great period of time vegetation appeared. 

Water, entering the bowels of the earth, through 
cracks or some such opening in the surface, would 
evaporate into steam and under high pressure break 
through the earth crust and create a volcano, carry¬ 
ing with it great masses of molten rock. The hot 
geysers of Yellowstone Park, in America, are simi¬ 
lar examples of such internal action. 

In historic times there were lakes in the Sahara 
Desert and the so-called “Hopeless Desert” lying in 
the Rocky Mountains of North America, while in 
the Sierra Nevadas there was a time, not more than 
a million years ago, when all of the territory was 


ON CAMEL’S BACK THROUGH SAHARA 193 

well watered and vegetated. One of these lakes, in 
western Utah and extending over into Nevada, was 
one hundred and seventy-five miles wide, two hun¬ 
dred and fifty miles long and in places over a thou¬ 
sand feet in depth. Other evidences of this phe¬ 
nomenon, of tremendous masses of water entering 
into the bowels of the earth, are found particularly 
in the many caves among the Pyrenees and in the 
Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, the largest cavern in 
the world, in the upper galleries of which can still 
be seen the perforations through which the waters 
descended. 

As we descend into the earth we observe an in¬ 
crease in temperature of one degree Fahrenheit for 
every fifty feet. At a depth of ten or twelve miles 
the earth is red hot. At a depth of a hundred miles 
the temperature is so great that if at the surface of 
the earth it would liquefy all solid matter. 

Not only lakes and seas have disappeared, but 
whole continents, in much more peculiar ways. 
Where the Atlantic Ocean now lies, there was once, 
some four million years ago, a continent which we 
call “Atlantis,” connecting America with Africa, and 
believed to have been peopled with a race far more 
intelligent than any now existing upon the earth. 
They were one-eyed and had conquered the laws of 
nature; their airships flying by natural forces, such 


i 9 4 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


as do our sailboats. Their animals could speak and 
had great destructive powers. But this can be only 
hearsay, since now “Atlantis” lies at the bottom of 
the ocean, gone forever, like many mountains which 
have likewise gone down into the waters. 

These surface changes, together with internal dis¬ 
turbances, created a wandering polar system and 
bodily displacement of both poles took place. With 
this came a great change in the climate of the earth. 
The lands of the present equator, which, only some 
twenty thousand years ago, were as cold as our pres¬ 
ent arctic zones, became tropical in climate, while 
the nourishing lands at the north and south poles 
grew desolate and cold, as they are today. The 
pole-axis of the earth has since changed consider¬ 
ably—Europe, only some twelve thousand years 
ago being covered with a great ice sheet. 

The highest peak of the earth is Mount Everest, 
twenty-nine thousand feet above sea level, and the 
greatest depth of the sea is more than twenty-five 
thousand feet. Some of the earth’s surface lies be¬ 
low sea level, but it is not flooded on account of be¬ 
ing surrounded by mountain ranges. A great part 
of the Sahara, for instance, is below sea level. The 
Sahara, less inhabited than any other area of the 
earth, covers one-twelfth part of the land surface of 
the earth, having an area of some four million 



ON CAMEL’S BACK THROUGH SAHARA 195 

square miles. It is by no means all sand; there are 
some plateaus and oases. In the days of Julius 
Caesar it was a fertile, well cultivated land, and was 
known as the “Granary of the Roman Empire.” 
With the fall of the old Roman Empire, however, 
the desert was neglected and the sands swallowed 
up the fertile lands. 

Scientists and explorers have dreamed for gen¬ 
erations of schemes not only to cultivate the desert, 
but to put such fertile lands within the reach of in¬ 
dustry. It is estimated that the Sahara could easily 
support a population of two hundred million souls 
and in addition supply Europe with all her fruit, 
vegetables, cereals and cotton, in fact with all prod¬ 
ucts that are at present produced in North America. 

The government of France, some fifty years ago, 
wanted to build a fifty-mile canal and let the waters 
of the ocean flow in to submerge and flood a great 
part of the Sahara, so as to change the climate and 
produce vegetation. Such a plan, however, would 
not only change the climate of the Sahara, but would 
change the climates of all the countries of the entire 
world, with dire consequences, and to such an extent 
that the end of the world would be believed near. 

As it concerns our world it is something in which 
every individual should be interested. 


196 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

Let us have a look at the paradox of our universe 
or rather the theories of our astronomers. 

The astronomers contend that our earth was mil¬ 
lions of years in the process of evolution and that 
man has been on the earth but a comparatively short 
time. Religion tells us that the earth, seas, sun, 
moon and stars were all created in six days of 
twenty-four hours each. Which is right? 

If the earth is a globe with a curvature of twenty- 
four feet in every six miles, how is it that the Mis¬ 
sissippi River starting as it does, at a low level, 
travels at an incline and toward the equator, the 
largest diameter of the earth; that is traveling up¬ 
hill and reaches the sea after twenty-seven hundred 
miles. Do astronomers overlook this fact? 

Astronomers contend that our earth spins around 
an imaginary axis—a ball weighing six hundred tril¬ 
lion tons, and eight thousand miles in diameter 
spinning around an imaginary axis! What gave the 
earth the original momentum five hundred million 
years ago, and what keeps it up? Did the speed 
of the earth increase or decrease with the evolution 
of the earth? 

These same men of high learning say that the 
earth, composed of rock, sand and water, travels 
at the equator at a speed of more than one thousand 
miles per hour or one hundred and fifty thousand 


ON CAMEL’S BACK THROUGH SAHARA 197 

feet per second. Yet any engineer knows that a 
spinning flywheel of solid iron will fly apart at a 
speed of from twenty to thirty thousand feet per 
second. By what power, then, is the earth held 
together? 

Then again they say that the lands at the north 
and south poles spin around like a merry-go-round. 
Did the men who discovered the poles make any 
report of being made sea-sick? 

If the sun is stationary and the earth moves 
around it, how could Joshua have commanded the 
sun to sand still and was obeyed, as the Bible says? 

If the moon, as the astronomers contend, is a 
body thrown from the earth by centrifugal force, 
while the earth was still in a semi-fluid state, why 
was it thrown just that distance, two hundred and 
forty thousand miles, no further or no less; why did 
it then change its course and float in empty space, 
ever since accompanying the earth in its travels 
around the sun? 

What becomes of the ocean waters at the high 
point of the equator? Do they flow by gravity, 
like the waters of a stream, toward the lower levels, 
the north and south poles? Who and what holds 
that water in place between the poles and the equa¬ 
tor? Take a rough surfaced metal ball upon a 
spindle and speed it up to a surface speed of one 


198 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

thousand miles per hour, let us say; charge it with 
electricity as the earth is said to be charged, then 
pour water on the spinning ball. Will it adhere 
to the ball or does the centrifugal force throw it 
off in all directions? 

If standing water has not a uniform level, let our 
astronomers build a tank, several miles long, such 
as the watering channels used by the railroads. 
Would the level of this standing water be higher 
at one end than at the other? 

Or was Copernicus wrong as well as all other 
astronomers who blindly believe in him, like they 
blindly followed the theory of gravity until another 
came along and told us we were all wrong? 

We believed, for years, that we could locate a 
star in a fixed position. Now we are told by Ein¬ 
stein that it cannot be done because the rays of the 
stars are bent when passing through the gravita¬ 
tional field of the sun. 

These are but a few of the seemingly contradic¬ 
tory theories of our universe, which speculative 
science would have the unsophisticated public be¬ 
lieve. 

I often ask myself, is the universe a huge Fata 
Morgana, covered by a veil no mortal shall ever 
lift? 

Truly the guesses of one generation are but the 


ON CAMEL’S BACK THROUGH SAHARA 199 

amusements of another. If it were possible to 
cruise the distant heavens some startling facts would 
no doubt be revealed. As yet it is all a dream. 


Finishing the article, Carl folded it and put it 
away. To himself, half aloud he muttered, “Whew! 
That sets one to thinking. This is something I have 
been looking for for a long time—the universe in 
a nutshell. Too bad he didn’t live to finish and 
publish it. It would have given the world something 
to talk about.” 

Once more his thoughts went to his beloved. 
“Poor Sana,” he murmured, “I miss you so. Just 
when my hopes were highest, just when the future 
looked its rosiest, you had to be taken away from 
me. Two days of happiness and then all is misery. 
Like a vision you came and went.” 

His head bowed, he rode on in silence. Sana 
had been very dear to him and the hurt was great. 

Suddenly, shots ringing clear in the desert air, 
roused him from his dreams. From behind a large 
sand hill rode a band of Arabs, shaking their rifles 
and crying loudly. 

The caravan halted, and the travelers made haste 
to return the fire of the bandits. Unslinging his 
automatic Carl accounted for two of the attackers, 


200 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

while some of the others fell before the rifles of the 
guides and the army officers. 

It was all over in a few minutes. The bandits, 
outnumbered two to one, rode off leaving half their 
number behind, dead or badly wounded. 

Fortunately the caravan suffered little. One of 
the camels had been killed, while one of the travelers, 
an elderly Englishman, suffered a slight wound in 
the arm. This was immediately treated by one of 
the guides, and after the excitement had died down, 
the caravan again set out across the desert. 


CHAPTER X 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 

D AY after day the caravan moved slowly 
on, under the blazing sun of the desert. 
One day was much like the other, just 
sand and sun, sun and sand. Days of intense heat, 
nights of extreme cold! 

It was getting too monotonous for Carl. Inac¬ 
tion of body allowed too great a freedom of mind. 
His days and nights were filled with thoughts of 
Sana, thoughts that became maddening as he real¬ 
ized the futility of life. Thoughts which made him 
more and more morose as the days went by. 

Only once did he show a mutual interest in the 
things that occurred about him. That was when 
one of the travelers called his attention to a beauti¬ 
ful oasis nearby, to which, however, the guides paid 
not the slightest attention. Questioned as to why 
the caravan did not stop, the guides replied to the 
effect that this was but a mirage of the Gurara 
Oasis, some five hundred miles away. 

For a few minutes they watched it, shimmering 


201 


202 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

in the sunlight. Then it was gone as quickly as it 
had appeared. 

“Fata Morgana” mused Carl, “Life and it are 
the same—just an illusion.” 

That night they reached Tenduff, having placed 
a thousand miles of desert behind them. 

The following day they reached the sand-hill re¬ 
gion of Igidi. Here the desert looked as if on 
fire. The sands glowed red beneath the blazing sun. 
In the distance one could see great whirling clouds 
of sand, rising hundreds of feet in the air. 

The caravan halted. For a time it looked as if 
the storm would pass in another direction. Sud¬ 
denly, however, it was upon them. The sky was 
darkened with the flying sand, the very ground itself 
seemed to be shifting under the fury of the storm. 

Instinctively the camels had lowered themselves 
to the ground. The travelers, under the direction 
of the guides, quickly threw themselves on the sands 
alongside of their beasts, covering themselves as best 
they could with their cloaks. 

For two long hours the storm raged—hours that 
seemed eternity to the suffocating men. Try as they 
would, they could not keep the dustlike sand from 
entering their eyes, nose and mouth. It was neces¬ 
sary, too, that they rise up for a minute or two to 
keep from being sanded in. 




The sky was darkened with the sand storm; instinctively the 
camels lowered themselves and the travelers threw themselves on 
the shifting sand, alongside of their beasts. 


203 



204 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

At last the storm was spent and the air once more 
lit to breathe. Man and beast stood up, shaking 
off their burdens of sand, to resume their journey. 
But thirty miles had been covered so far that day 
and they faced twenty more miles before they could 
rest. 

Carl was worn out. The storm and his general 
indisposition had got the better of him. It was with 
difficulty that he mounted his camel, and once up, 
it was harder still for him to keep awake. 

For a time he struggled with the desire to sleep, 
but it was useless. 

Gone now was the caravan, gone the desert! 
Sana and he were in a huge aeroplane. It was their 
first flight together in the “Meteor,” as he had 
named it. Long had he worked to perfect this 
machine. Nothing similar had ever before been de¬ 
vised. Its large bullet-shaped body and spreading 
wings gave it the appearance of a gigantic bird. It 
flew without an engine, propelled by an invisible 
force, the secret of which was his, alighting and 
soaring at will, through wind or calm. It would 
hover in the air like a hawk and at the pressure 
of his hand on a lever would rush through space at 
an unlimited speed. He had gotten a thousand miles 
an hour out of it, but that was nothing compared 
to what it could do! 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


205 


Below them lay what was once the great Sahara 
Desert. But how different now! The great canal 
had been dug and the waters of the sea let in but 
a short year before. Already the country had 
changed—great fertile fields had sprung up on all 
sides. Gone were the sand hills—gone too, Sana 
cried, was her Gurara Oasis. 

Swinging southward they soon passed over the 
great jungles of Africa. Here, too, a mighty change 
had been wrought. The tropical climate had gone, 
the jungle life was dying. Ice was forming on some 
of the swamps. Strange beasts were wandering 
about aimlessly, seeking a warmer land. Among 
these were animals of which modern man knew little 
or nothing—the unicorn for instance, an animal ex¬ 
isting only in the imagination of writers and artists, 
or as Carl noted, through his powerful field glasses, 
a monstrous dinosaur, walking on its high legs. He 
had seen many skeletons of that primitive beast in 
museums all over the world, but he had believed, 
with the rest of the world, that no such animal ex¬ 
isted in modern times. Yet here it was, driven from 
its jungle haunts by the ever increasing cold. The 
natives, too, he saw bewildered and afraid—huddled 
close to their fires, filled with wonder and dismay. 

In Europe they found similar climatic changes. 
It was July, but everywhere the people were wearing 



206 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


their heaviest clothing to keep warm. The vegeta¬ 
tion of the land was being slowly but surely de¬ 
stroyed by the terrible frosts. People were dying 
by millions because of the lack of food and the dis¬ 
eases that swept the land. 

Forgotten were the hatreds of war—forgotten 
the enmities of society. Nations were striving with 
each other to maintain life. In Germany Carl 
found the entire resources devoted to the manufac¬ 
ture and distribution of a chemical preparation 
which was to take the place of food for the Germans 
and other peoples of Europe. 

Throughout Europe all communication by wire¬ 
less, by telegraph or telephone was halted. This 
was caused by the continual display of the so-called 
“Northern Lights,” now of much greater intensity 
in Europe than ever witnessed before even at the 
North Pole. 

In a flight over the Arctic regions they saw the 
great ice flows break up and drift southward, ex¬ 
posing land that had never been known to exist. 

Volcanoes, long thought to have been extinct, sud¬ 
denly came to life, belching forth numerous pillars 
of ashes, smoke and molten lava. On the western 
coast of North America a great earthquake took 
place, throwing up a range of mountains thousands 
of feet high, accompanied by untold loss and life 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


207 


and property. So frequent and great were the 
earthquakes that shook the globe that it was feared 
by the learned men the world over that the world 
would be literally shattered to pieces. Large bodies 
of water, which had accumulated in the Sahara, 
seeped through the dry sand into the hot bowels of 
the earth, where the water was converted into steam 
and under high pressure caused the eruption and 
explosion of numerous volcanoes. 

Ocean steamers fortunate enough to avoid the 
great icebergs that were daily gathering their toll 
of life or the terrible waterspouts that occurred in 
every part of the sea would not respond to the com¬ 
pass. Their masters reported that the needles 
pointed far away from what had been north. The 
earth had been thrown out of balance! This ex¬ 
plained to some extent the change of climate the 
world over. Lands that had been in equatorial re¬ 
gions were thrown north or south with regard to 
their position in relation to the sun. 

The saying of Archimedes, “Give me a fulcrum 
and I will move the earth,” had come true. But 
instead of a lever and fulcrum, a counter ballast of 
water, flooding the Sahara, had done the work. 

Scientists began to speculate as to the course the 
earth would follow in its yearly movement around 
the sun. By comparative astronomical measure- 


208 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


ments it was established that the earth was following 
a path greatly deflected from its former orbit, while 
other planets flouted the rules as to orbits and be¬ 
haved more like comets. Would the earth now 
collide with other planets, was the question on every¬ 
one’s lips. All the fixed “rules of thumb” the 
astronomers used had to be discarded for new cal¬ 
culations and guesswork. 

And the earth was traveling through unknown 
space at a speed of six hundred and sixty-six thou¬ 
sand miles an hour! 

Then came the age of darkness! The millions of 
tons of dust and ashes thrown into the heavens from 
the hundreds of erupting volcanoes, traveling with 
the winds of the earth, formed a heavy film through 
which the rays of the sun could barely penetrate. 
The air grew cold; blizzards were ever more fre¬ 
quent and severe; gradually the earth was sheathed 
in a covering of ice. 

But through the darkness there came a light, 
growing brighter and brighter as the days went by. 

Astronomers reported that this strange light came 
from an unknown comet traveling at great speed 
towarci the earth. As time passed the entire horizon 
was illuminated by this strange visitor. The light 
became brighter and more intense than that of the 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


209 

hottest sun. And nearer and nearer it came to the 
earth! 

All over the world anxious eyes watched the 
comet night and day. Was the end of the world at 
hand? The most irreligious people spent days and 
nights in prayer. Nations set prayer-days to save 
the world from destruction. People lost their reason 
and wandered around helplessly and aimlessly, until 
maddened entirely they took their lives. 

A poisonous gas swept over the face of the earth. 
Chemists and scientists alike were baffled in their 
attempts to analyze it. Was it caused by the passing 
of the world through one of the nebulae, which long 
had been regarded as composed of dangerous gases? 
Or could it be that the comet now speeding toward 
them was discharging these gases? They could find 
no answer. 

But whatever it was, it was taking fearful toll on 
earth. Never had anything like it been witnessed 
before. Men dropped dead in the streets. Women, 
their babes at their breasts, died in their homes. 
The open air was no longer safe. Even the houses 
were penetrated regardless of what precautions were 
taken to stop up crevices in doors and windows. 

Life on earth was unbearable! 

Carl, disgusted with the miserable condition, de¬ 
termined, then, that he and his wife, Sana, would 


210 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

leave the now inhospitable earth and seek a haven 
of refuge on some other planet. 

It was but a matter of hours to make arrange¬ 
ments. A generous supply of the artificial food was 
put into the machine. They did not have to worry 
about fuel, as the “Meteor” would generate its 
mysterious power as it traveled. Carl had explained 
this to Sana, confidentially. Fuel for the engines, 
if such the delicate apparatus might be called, was 
secured directly from the atmosphere. The higher 
the speed of the plane the more rarefied the atmos¬ 
phere, the better the quality of fuel. Furthermore, 
Carl did not have to attend any steering devices. 
The plane traveled in an electric wave zone, driven 
forward by this new device, and once headed in any 
desired direction would continue in that direction 
indefinitely. 

Helping Sana into the enclosed body of the 
“Meteor,” Carl bade farewell to the earth. Soon 
they were speeding heavenward at a tremendous 
pace, going in the direction of the earth’s rotation. 

Looking out of the port-hole-like windows of the 
plane Carl and Sana saw that they had already 
passed through the dust cloud which enveloped the 
earth. As they watched, they saw the earth and 
moon whiz past them with the speed of falling 
comets. 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


211 


From this time on their mentality was severed 
from that of the peoples of the earth. They were 
independent of the conception of time, which, really, 
exists only in the minds of the human race, according 
to Einstein’s theory. 

An unusual sight now presented itself to the flying 
couple. The great comet that had caused so much 
consternation on earth was in plain view. Behind 
the tremendous sun-like head trailed a most imposing 
tail, millions of miles in length, and from all appear¬ 
ances composed of gases and without any sharp lines 
of demarkation. This tail had not been visible to 
the watchers on earth because of the great dust 
cloud. To Carl and Sana, however, it was quite 
distinct, looking much like a great inverted comma, 
imprinted on the endless depths of the sky. 

It was necessary for Carl, after a while, to go 
to the pressure chambers to replenish the air supply 
of their cabin. This done, he idly fingered the 
tuning dials of the wireless apparatus with which the 
plane was equipped. To his surprise the cabin was 
filled with the sound of incoming messages. He 
endeavored to interpret them but they were in a 
language unknown to him. Somewhere out in the 
ether there existed people, he realized, of an intelli¬ 
gence far greater than that of the earth-men. 

Tuning down the wireless, he returned to Sana, 


212 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

who was again peering through the windows of the 
plane at the myriads of stars that went flashing by. 

Now a great planet came into view. Carl recog¬ 
nized Saturn, 750 times the size of the earth. 
Around it traveled a broad concentric ring. It was 
accompanied by ten moons. 

They kept up their wild flight, passing, after some 
days—according to Carl’s watch, at a great distance, 
Uranus. In the distance they observed Neptune and 
realizing that upon reaching it, they would be some 
three billion miles from home, so they decided to 
turn homeward. With a great sweep taking several 
days the “Meteor” shot around Neptune, and again 
after two weeks they passed Uranus and Saturn. 
After a while the great planet Jupiter passed them, 
or rather they passed the planet, although flying at 
their terrific speed they were unconscious of motion. 

In the distance loomed up the Milky Way, com¬ 
prised as they saw, of billions of stars closely 
grouped together. Not wishing to encounter any of 
these stars, Carl swung the plane in a wide detour. 

This danger passed, the plane hummed along for a 
few hours, when Carl, looking downward, saw beneath 
them the planet Mars. Throttling down their speed 
they hung suspended above that planet at a few miles 
height. From their position they could see the great 
canal systems which brought the waters from the 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


213 


snow and ice clad polar regions to the more tem¬ 
perate zones. These zones, they saw, were covered 
with large areas of vegetation, nesting among which 
were what appeared to be cities. Above these cities 
Hew countless airplanes, not so very much different 
in appearance from those used on earth. 

With “Let us land here,” Carl guided the 
“Meteor” Mars-ward, landing shortly in a field cov¬ 
ered with moss and strange plants. 

Immediately their plane was surrounded by a host 
of strange people. In form they were very much 
like the people of the earth. They were, however, 
much smaller and had heads large out of all pro¬ 
portion to their bodies. Clothes too, were not to 
be seen. 

Before they left the plane Carl warned Sana to 
be very careful how she moved about. As Mars 
is only one tenth the size of the earth in volume, 
gravitation is likewise less. Carl who, on earth 
weighed about one hundred and sixty pounds, would 
weigh but sixty-four or five pounds on Mars. He 
told Sana, jokingly, that she could easily step over 
their huge airplane, while a Martian would break 
his neck if he tried to jump over an ordinary soap 
box. 

To the Martians, Sana and Carl must have ap¬ 
peared quite strange, both as to size and clothing. 


214 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

For a time the crowd stood at a distance as if in 
awe of these strange beings that had come to them 
out of the skies. At length, however, one of the 
group stepped forward and spoke. Much to his 
surprise Carl realized that he understood him per¬ 
fectly. And stranger, still, Carl found himself an¬ 
swering in a language that was new to his ears. 

Courteously they questioned him as to his desires, 
and being informed that Carl and Sana had flown 
through space from the earth, their amazement was 
without bounds. Would more follow him, they 
asked, to which Carl was quick to reply that none 
would come. Realizing their doubt, he assured 
them that he alone knew the secret of his flight and 
that no other earth-men could make the journey. 

Assured at last, that these two visitors had come 
without intent to harm, they led Carl and Sana to 
a great hall, where food and drink were served 
them. Food and drink such as they had never tasted 
before! The various dishes of chemical food had 
the same brown granular appearance, but when 
placed in the mouth each gave a different taste and 
had different satisfying qualities. The same applied 
to the drinks. One could not be distinguished from 
the other, either in appearance or odor, yet each was 
distinctly different to the palate. 

The hall or room and its furnishings, they noted, 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


215 


were very much like those of the earth. While this 
was indeed strange, Carl reasoned that there was 
no good reason why two worlds of people, although 
separated by untold miles, should not conceive things 
along the same lines. 

Having eaten, Carl and Sana were informed that 
they could come and go as they pleased among the 
people of Mars. Whatever they wished was theirs 
for the asking—as was the case with all Martians. 

This promise of freedom proved well founded. 
Together Carl and Sana studied and explored with¬ 
out interference, although they soon realized that 
their every move was witnessed by some Martian or 
other. 

Life on Mars, they found to be Utopian in the 
fullest sense of the word, compared to which the 
democracies of the earth were naught but the great¬ 
est farces. Mars, of course, was a much older 
world compared with the earth, so far as human 
life was concerned and naturally greater things could 
have been accomplished. 

Here on Mars each individual was accountable 
to his neighbor for a certain amount of work; every 
man, woman and child had some one thing to do, 
and did it willingly. 

They had long realized that upon the proper 
application of scientific knowledge depended the wel- 


216 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

fare of their civilization. Science was their God, 
and they worshiped it as we do our Creator! 

Most marvelous of the many wonderful things 
the two earth people encountered on every hand was 
the application of wireless to many walks of life. 
Every Martian carried a small and delicate receiving 
set with him. No matter where he was he was 
always equipped and ready for whatever message 
might be sent him. Numerous stations were con¬ 
tinually broadcasting the news of the day. No 
papers were needed; in fact the written language 
had been discarded long ago as an obsolete thing. 
There were no schools, churches, or meeting halls 
such as we have on earth. The people sat in their 
homes and were informed of all there was to know. 

Transportation, too, differed greatly from that of 
the earth. All the railways were underground, and 
instead of tracks and wheeled cars, such as we have, 
cylindrical tubes were shot forward like pistons in 
a cylinder, or rather these cylinder-like cars were 
sucked from one station to another, at a terrific 
speed, by means of great solenoids, the electrical 
current for which was secured from the numerous 
hydro-electric generating stations that dotted the 
banks of the canals, which served the Martians a 
double purpose. They furnished the water needed 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


217 

to irrigate the fields and at the same time ran the 
generating plants. 

Carl was forcibly struck by the ingenuity displayed 
in the utilizing of these canal waters. The waters 
used at one station, after being discharged, were 
carried along for a short distance, until, through a 
series of steps it fell to a lower level, to again be 
used by a generating station. It was only after it 
had served its purpose of generating power that the 
water was finally pumped over the fields. The fields 
ran along both sides of the canals for thousands of 
miles and averaged perhaps fifteen miles in width. 
He saw, too, that while most of the canals ran 
parallel with each other, there were some that 
crossed each other at different elevations. 

Very little labor was performed by hand. Prac¬ 
tically all the work on Mars was done by electrical 
machinery, devised by the inhabitants of that strange 
world. 

Much traveling was done by means of airplanes, 
such as they had noticed when first they hovered 
over the planet. These airplanes had no engines, 
but were propelled by wireless from stations on land. 
Freight planes, too, sailed prescribed courses, with¬ 
out pilots, guided by a lone operator in a distant 


tower. 


218 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


For a time things ran along smoothly but at last 
Carl and Sana realized that they would soon have 
to return to earth. Life was dear to them and their 
days were numbered if they continued to live upon 
Mars. The rarity of the atmosphere and the 
strange mode of living was making its impression 
upon them. Besides, they noted, the ever increasing 
hostility on the part of some of the Martians. 

Carl waited until their baby was born and Sana 
well on the road to recovery, before making any 
definite plans for the future. 

Came the day, however, when they went once 
more to the “Meteor” to leave that strange land. 
And just in time. The plane literally swarmed with 
Martians, who, from all appearances were doing 
their utmost to dismantle it. At Carl’s approach 
they fell back, taken by surprise. 

One of the Martians, in particular, was quite 
hostile and abusive. With a snarl he attempted to 
take baby Charlie from Sana, who screamed to Carl 
for help. Carl, with a spring, was at her side. 
Without hesitating an instance he swung his arm and 
landed a mighty blow on the head of the offender. 
To the surprise of all, the Martian did not fall, but 
went flying through the air, at a height of perhaps 
twenty feet, to land in a misshapen heap some hun¬ 
dred yards away. 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


219 


This sight cowed the rest of them to a certain 
extent. Carl had time to help Sana and the baby 
into the cabin of the plane, give a hasty glance at 
the mechanism at the head of the machine, climb 
inside and shut the door, which automatically was 
hermetically sealed. 

Once more the Martians swarmed about the 
“Meteor” in a last attempt to prevent its leaving 
the ground. Their efforts were, of course, useless. 
No power on earth or Mars could have held the 
“Meteor,” once Carl established his electric zone, 
the airplane would shoot forward at the speed of 
electric waves. With a rush they were off, soaring- 
far out into space, followed, as they saw upon look¬ 
ing hack, by a myriad of Martian airplanes, which, 
although capable of traveling at a speed greater than 
any ordinary airplane of the earth, were soon out¬ 
distanced. 

Looking at one of the wings, Carl saw, hanging 
on, with a desperation caused by fear and astonish¬ 
ment, a Martian at the end of the wing. Appar¬ 
ently he had been unable to scramble off when the 
“Meteor” had started. 

Without saying anything to Sana as to this, Carl 
flapped the encumbered wing in the way a bird 
would, and saw the Martian torn from his grasp 
and catapulted far out into space, only to describe 


220 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

a wide arc and fall like a plummet down into the 
limitless depths. Would he, Carl mused, too be¬ 
come a wanderer of the skies? 

Putting the countless miles speedily behind them, 
the “Meteor” at last came in sight of the moon. 
Calling Sana to his side, Carl let their ship hover 
above that cold dead world. The sight below them 
was fearful—the planet was a veritable charnel- 
house. Countless circular mountain ranges, looking 
like great inactive volcanic craters, some of them 
hundreds of miles in diameter and with ramparts 
more than twenty-five thousand feet high, studded 
the surface of the moon. Between these mountain 
ranges the surface of the moon was scarred with 
great clefts or crevices, evidently caused by the sud¬ 
den cooling of that planet. 

Recalling that among the various books they had 
with them, was one containing photographic maps 
of the moon, compiled by the greatest of the earth’s 
astronomers, Carl procured it and with Sana’s as¬ 
sistance, compared the pictured maps with the planet 
itself. Yes, there was the great Copernicus crater, 
with its strange central peak rising some eleven 
thousand feet from the bottom of the pit, although 
the peak rose only some two thousand five hundred 
feet above the surface of the moon. There was the 
Plato crater, sixty miles in diameter with peaks over 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


221 


seven thousand feet high; Clavius, one hundred and 
forty miles from rampart to rampart with peaks 
sixteen thousand feet high; Herschel ninety miles in 
diameter; Gauss and Humbolt each about one hun¬ 
dred miles across. He recognized, too, the lunar 
Apennines, some four thousand five hundred miles 
long, soaring in rugged steps to a height of eighteen 
thousand feet; the lunar Alps, consisting of some 
hundred peaks, rising to a height of ten thousand 
feet, while the great peaks of the Doerfel and 
Leipnitz mountains overshadowed all in their ma¬ 
jestic heights of twenty-six to twenty-seven thousand 
feet. 

Gleaming white, dull red and brilliant yellow the 
peaks and craters reflected the rays of the sun. A 
beautiful sight, indeed, yet more impressive, to Carl, 
was the fact that the planet they inspected was but 
the skeleton of what might once have been a world 
of life and progress. Who knows? 

Leaving the moon behind, they headed for the 
earth. The dust clouds had disappeared and the 
land and water surfaces were clearly visible even at 
their great distance. Their earth-home was once 
again in sight. A feeling of happiness stole over 
the returning wanderers. Truly, there is no place 
like home. 

Guiding the “Meteor” in the direction of the 


222 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

earth’s rotation, they swooped earthward, landing at 
last in a highly vegetated field. 

People were working the lands, using, Carl soon 
saw rather primitive implements. The alighting air¬ 
plane caused a great deal of commotion among these 
people, but seeing that the people who stepped from 
the machine were human beings, looking much like 
themselves, they soon got over their fright, and came 
forward, eager questions on their lips. 

They spoke a sort of dialect English, and Carl 
had little difficulty in making himself understood. 
He informed them that he, too, was an earth- 
dweller, who had returned with his wife and baby 
from a trip to a distant world. Amazement was 
plain on every face, but they assured him of their 
belief in what he said, adding that they had never 
before seen such a thing as the strange ship in which 
he had come, although their books taught them that 
there was a time when earthmen flew about in some 
such machines. 

Scarcely believing his ears, Carl asked them the 
name of the country in which he had landed, and 
was told it was called “Artonia.” 

“Artonia? I have never heard of that. Where 
is it in location to the rest of the world?” 

He learned, then, that this was the region of the 
one-time North Pole, as it was called ages ago. 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


223 

“Ages ago? What year is it now?” he asked, 
amazed. 

“It is the year 3831,” came the reply. 

“383 1 ?” questioned his mind. Unbelievable! 
Nearly two thousand years of earth-time had elapsed 
during their journey, and to them it had seemed but 
the matter of a year. Turning to Sana, Carl said, 
“Is it possible that Einstein was right?” 

If such changes had been wrought at the pole, 
what had happened to the rest of the world? What 
had become of the great cities of the world and their 
people? Sadly they realized that they alone of the 
old order of things existed. This world, their home, 
would be as strange to them as Mars! 

They might as well utilize their means of travel 
and visit the other parts of the globe. The 
“Meteor,” although badly strained by the severe use 
to which it had been subjected in their flight, would 
still suffice them on earth. They, in turn, had be¬ 
come nomads of the earth—wanderers without a 
place they could call home. Men without a world! 

Their supply of the artificial food had about been 
exhausted, and Carl questioned the strange folk as 
to where he could purchase food. At his remark, 
“But I have little money,” they asked curiously, 
“Money? What is that?” 

Carl tried to explain, but they did not understand. 



224 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


ITe knew then that they, in their primitiveness had 
not yet reached the stage where a standard form of 
exchange was required. So he reverted to their 
method of barter. 

He had not much choice in the way of what to 
offer. In fact the only things he had were his books. 
Perhaps they would serve his purpose. And serve 
his purpose they did. Cooked meats, fruits and 
vegetables galore were given him in exchange for a 
single book—a book of wild game hunt in Africa. 
He noted with a smile, that it was the pictures that 
interested these people. They passed the book from 
hand to hand, looking at the highly colored illustra¬ 
tions, like so many amused school children. 

Promising these new made friends that they 
would return to them, to tell them of what they had 
seen in their tour of the world, they said goodbye, 
and headed for Europe. 

The Europe they had known was gone—gone 
were the great centers of population, gone were the 
peoples they had known, swallowed up, all, in the 
relentless march of Time! 

Gone too, were the great nations of Europe, as 
Carl and Sana knew them. All that remained of 
the once great British Empire was the little isle of 
England—the rest of her domains had shaken off 
the yoke and were independent countries. 



THE LOVER’S DREAM 


225 


In France a greater change had taken place. The 
one-time French race had completely extinguished 
itself generations before. The land was now over¬ 
run with a polyglot race of Russians and Germans, 
who were more phlegmatic than ever. 

Germany and the other countries of Europe, too, 
were changed to such an extent that there was no 
comparison between the order now in existence and 
the order that had passed. 

In all Europe laws of equality of man had been 
established, so that now all men were equally rich, 
or rather equally poor. Equally poor, because, there 
was no longer any incentive or inducement to strive 
to gain. The people had become drones to an ex¬ 
treme degree. There was no reward for labor, so 
none labored. No man tried to outdo his neighbor, 
for in the end, his neighbor had as much as he. 
Hence progress had ceased long ago. There was 
no industry worthy of the name. Civilization, as 
Carl and Sana knew it, was, too, a thing of the past. 

To all appearances, the people existed only be¬ 
cause they did not die. Nothing mattered to them 
but food, and as eating was a necessary evil, they 
procured their food, individually, with as little ex¬ 
ertion as was possible. Too lazy, in most instances, 
to even cook the fish and game they caught, they 
ate it raw, and having filled their bellies, would lie 


226 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


down beside their mates to sleep until they were 
hungry again. 

Landing in North Africa, both Carl and Sana 
were astounded at the changes that had taken place. 
The once barren wastes of the desert country had 
been converted, as if by the wave of a magic wand, 
into a great agricultural country. The terrific heat 
of the days and the freezing cold of the nights had 
gone and in their place was a mild climate, similar 
to that of the central United States. With this 
great change had come prosperity; prosperity of 
such magnitude as to even surpass that of Carl’s 
own country at the time he and Sana had taken flight 
from the earth. 

The flooding of the lower desert areas, while 
inundating tremendous territory, had caused the sur¬ 
rounding lands to become fertile, rich in nitrates and 
plant values. The people of the new, for such it 
was, land, were the descendants of the one-time 
semi-savage races. Now they numbered some two 
hundred millions and in truth had become a mighty 
race, rich in power and wealth. 

On every hand, Carl and Sana, saw bodies of 
soldiers in training. On inquiring as to this, they 
were informed that ages ago France had taught 
them the military arts. Today these people believed 
the entire world was in fear of them. In fact they 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


22 7 


were bragging of the great military strength and 
boasted of the fact that for centuries no nation had 
even so much as dared try to exploit them. 

Sana pointed out to Carl that these people were 
not as dark of skin as they were when the land 
was still a desert. On hearing her remark, a native 
man, of apparent great learning, and who was acting 
as a sort of self-appointed guide to the couple, ex¬ 
plained, saying: 

“Ages ago, that is, some two thousand years ago, 
France used our people to fight her wars against 
other nations of white peoples. France realized that 
if she haci more of us available to fight her battles, 
she could soon gain control of the entire world. To 
this end she established this great African country 
of ours, believing at the time that the people of this 
great land would always remain subject to her rule 
and would always be at her call to aid her against 
the world. 

“In this she was partly right. If she could always 
control the colonies of black peoples, she could defy 
any nation on the earth.” 

The speaker paused, then continued, with a smile 
of satisfaction, “But France overlooked the fact that 
France herself, as a white race was dying gradually. 
She overlooked too, to what great extent the black 


228 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

races had mingled with the white h rench, with its 
self-evident result. 

“Today, the African and the Asiatic races rule 
the world, thanks to the one-time French and the 
English. 

“We two colored races, that is the black and yel¬ 
low races, are the only ones on earth that amount to 
anything. We are the mighty ones of the earth 
today and none dare interfere or disturb us. 

“When France realized that the tables were being 
turned against her, and that she was sure to be the 
loser, she tried to avert the impending disaster to 
France, by attempting to make this great country a 
barren waste of sand once more. But it was too 
late. Too late for France to undo the great wrong 
she had done the white races of the earth. We 
were already strong enough to resist any such action 
on her part. Rising up in our might, much to their 
surprise, we overthrew our masters and became a 
nation independent and free from the yoke that had 
rested on our necks for so many years. 

“From that time on the white French disappeared 
still faster from the face of the earth. Our histories 
tell us that in the course of the two following gen¬ 
erations there were no more white French in France. 

“These colored people you now see here are to a 
great extent the descendants of the French. In 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


229 


other words they are the result of the mingling of 
the white and the black, with the black, as you see, 
predominating.” 

“But how was it that the black races prospered 
so?” Carl interrupted. Things were not quite clear 
to him, as yet. 

The answer came quickly—“You know from your 
histories that the white races, from the beginning of 
time, have been warring upon each other. You 
know too, that the colored races have never fought 
each other as have the whites. That is the answer. 

“England aided the growth of the yellow race by 
letting Japan overrun Russia. France conscripted 
the black race to fight the white. What other out¬ 
come was there to expect? Sooner or later the two 
races must dominate. When the black and yellow 
races are allowed to kill off the white, there could 
be no other result. 

“And, because that result was inevitable, so it has 
come to pass. Today where are the whites? Scat¬ 
tered over the earth! But they are nobody. Their 
ambition lies dormant; they are even too lazy to 
procure their food. They are a dying race. 

“But we colored people are different. We are 
the civilized peoples of the earth. Our civilization 
has taken the place of that of the white peoples 
some two thousand years ago.” 


2 3 o UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

The truth became clear to Carl and Sana as they 
listened to the speaker’s words. The hypocrisy of 
nations, like that of individuals, ends with disaster. 

Asking whether all these great changes had been 
wrought in a natural way, Carl was told “Not quite 
so. At the time when the Sahara, as it was then 
known, was changed from a desert into a flowering 
garden, there was, according to history, a great 
astronomical upheaval, destroying great cities, and 
killing millions of people. Ever since, the “great 
comet,” which will soon be visible in the sky, has 
appeared daily. Then our colored people with the 
mixture of the French blood get excited. They can 
not lose their fear.” 

Sana smiled, saying, “After two thousand years 
they are still excited and afraid.” 

In the days that followed Carl and Sana, in their 
wanderings about this strange country, were soon 
convinced of the truth of the things they had been 
told. Much as they would have liked to remain here 
and study the civilization and people about them, 
they desired to hasten to America. Of Sana’s home¬ 
stead on the Gurara Oasis there was nothing to be 
seen. Ages ago all that was dear to Sana had been 
buried deep beneath the waves of the great inland 


sea. 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


231 

So getting once more into the “Meteor” they set 
out for Carl’s beloved country. 

America, too, had changed, Carl found to his 
great regret, when the “Meteor” alighted at the site 
of what was once the world’s greatest city. Gone 
were the towering buildings of New York, gone 
were its millions of people. In its place was naught 
but a great sandy plain, or better, a plateau, extend¬ 
ing for miles in all directions, and unpeopled save 
for a few straggling groups of rude hut-like shelters. 

In landing the “Meteor” had come to a step at 
a point that Carl figured was approximately lower 
Broadway. Nearby some excavating work was be¬ 
ing done by a group of white-bearded men, who at 
the sight of the airplane dropped their implements 
and came hurrying towards it. Upon questioning 
these men Carl learned that they were scientists who 
had come from the cities that lay in the distant West, 
to learn something about the civilization that had 
existed on the Atlantic coast in the days of the past. 

To the best of their knowledge, they explained, 
some thousand or so years ago the entire coast had 
been devastated by great tidal waves, followed by 
terrible earthquakes causing untold destruction. Vol¬ 
canic eruptions, too, had added to the havoc, burying 
the lands, for thousands of square miles, under mil¬ 
lions of tons of lava and rock. 


232 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

Leading him to the pit where Carl had first seen 
them, the excavators asked him to peer down the 
deep shaft they had dug. At the bottom, some two 
hundred feet below him, Carl saw the tower of the 
great Woolworth Building of old New York. 

Asking them what they sought, the answer came, 
“Knowledge. We of today have little need for the 
material things of Life. Ours is a search for the 
Truth, and we must hurry.” 

The spokesman of the party pointed heavenward. 
Carl, following the directing finger with his eyes, 
saw in blazing brilliance, the great comet whose first 
appearance had caused Sana and he to flee the earth. 
While in Europe he had noticed it, but had paid 
little attention to it, being too absorbed in the things 
around him. The peoples of Europe, too, had taken 
it as an accepted thing of life. 

The stranger continued, “That has been there in 
the heavens as long as man can remember, but we 
who know, realize that it is coming closer and closer 
to the earth. Just when that final rush will come, 
the rush that shall bring destruction to this world, 
we do not know, but we fear that the day is not far 
off. For myself I care not. The day can come 
anytime and I will be ready. For the sake of the 
truths we are seeking, however, I hope that that day 
will never come.” 


THE LOVER’S DREAM 


233 


A strange world indeed, mused Carl, when the 
knowledge of truth dominates and man’s personal 
ambitions are secondary! 

Wandering around Carl and Sana saw how com¬ 
plete the destruction had been. The wonderful 
Palisades of the Hudson had disappeared, the river 
itself having been turned from its bed many miles 
away. The East River, too, was gone, having been 
filled with lava and rock as had a great part of Long 
Island Sound. 

While on one of their wonder-filled trips of ex¬ 
ploration, they came upon an extinct volcanic crater, 
very similar in size and appearance to some they 
had seen on the moon. The air, that day, seemed 
more oppressive than usual and the heat terrific. 

Seeking coolness in the shadow of a great boulder 
on the rampart of this crater, Sana sat down, her 
baby in her arms, while Carl stood nearby studying 
the wonderful formations of rock and lava at every 
hand. 

Suddenly the air was filled with a great roaring 
sound, a sound so terrific that it was deafening. A 
light, brighter than that of a hundred suns, illumined 
the earth. With a rush the realization was upon 
them. The comet was fast approaching the earth 
—the end of the world was at hand. 

Then the collision—the earth shook under the 



234 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


impact—the air was filled with dust and smoke. 
Fearful for the safety of his beloved ones, Carl 
sprang to them, to clutch them tightly in his arms. 
Then darkness! 


Someone laughing? Carl opened his eyes. Of 
course they were laughing at him, lying at the feet 
of his camel, from whose back he had fallen in his 
sleep, with his arms tightly hugging the camel’s legs. 


CHAPTER XI 


UNDER THE KNIFE 

C ARL, endeavoring to get to his feet, was 
aware of a severe pain in his side. His left 
foot, too, pained him and was unable to sup¬ 
port any weight. Struggling at last to an upright 
position, he staggered forward a few steps, only to 
lurch head first into the burning desert sand. Imme¬ 
diately the other tourists were off their camels and 
at his side. A hasty examination proved that his 
left ankle was badly broken and that, from all ap¬ 
pearances, he had suffered internal injuries in his fall 
from the camel. 

Everything possible was done to relieve his pain 
and make him as comfortable as possible. With 
great care he was literally hoisted aboard one of 
the camels, and strapped on its back, where he was 
held secure from a further fall by one of the guides 
who rode behind him. 

The place of Carl’s accident was near the Wadi 
D raa River, flowing past the southern end of the 
Atlas Mountains, so they were still some two hun- 


235 


236 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

dred and fifty miles, about four days’ ride from 
Mogador, the terminus of the caravan. 

Accordingly the caravan headed for the nearest 
town, Glisscim, but here they found only a native 
doctor, to whose care none was willing to entrust 
the sick man. Securing an automobile, the only one 
to be had and a ramshackle bouncing affair at that, 
Carl was driven to Mogador. Here, too, disap¬ 
pointment was in store for him. Suffering although 
he was from the pain in his side and ankle, Carl 
would not consent to gamble his chances on the more 
or less speculative knowledge of the only doctor in 
that locality. 

Another hundred miles of pain-tortured automo¬ 
bile ride and he reached Marrakesh, the beautiful 
southern capital of Morocco, lying at the foot of 
the Atlas Mountains, whose snow covered peaks pro¬ 
vided a wondrous contrast to the great groves of 
palms that formed a background for the city. It 
was at Marrakesh that the celebrated feudal chief¬ 
tain of the southern country, El Hadj Thami 
Glaouri, made his home, being attracted to the city 
by its great groves of cypress and olive trees and its 
wonderful gardens of tropical beauty. 

At the hospital, Carl, much to his delighted sur¬ 
prise, was placed under the care of the prominent 
French physician Dr. Thuillier. After a thorough 


UNDER THE KNIFE 


237 


examination, which confirmed the belief of the tour¬ 
ists, Carl was placed in bed. The hospital was 
rather crowded with soldiers wounded in the war, 
but room was found for him in one of the wards. 

That was on a Thursday night. The following 
morning X-ray pictures were taken to ascertain the 
true nature of the fracture in his leg, and Friday 
not being an operating day, but a “meatless one,” as 
was laughingly explained to him, Carl had to wait 
for “butcher day,” which was Saturday, for the 
operation. 

Among the nurses at the hospital there were a 
few white women, one of whom, Carl soon learned, 
was an American, Grace Huntington. She came 
from New York, where she had been employed as 
a stenographer and secretary prior to the outbreak 
of the war. When the war came she went to France 
as a nurse, like so many of her American sisters. 
During her service with the armies she had met Dr. 
Thuillier, who had accompanied a regiment of semi¬ 
savage Moroccan soldiers to France. He, seeing 
that she made a wonderful nurse, made her an at¬ 
tractive offer, which, in her enthusiasm, she readily 
accepted, going to Marrakesh at the termination of 
her work in France. 

Grace was young and very attractive, as Carl soon 
noticed. Carl was attractive, too, it seemed, as from 


238 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

the outset complaints were made that she paid more 
attention to him than was necessary. 

Carl was much interested in the sights about him, 
and particularly in the behavior of several men, who, 
still under the influence of the ether, were brought 
back to the ward from the operating room. One of 
these was a young Englishman who, coming out of 
the ether became very restless and talkative. So 
restless was he that two nurses had to hold him 
down, but all the while he kept talking of and to 
his sweetheart. This made Carl wonder whether 
he, when coming back from the plane of unconscious¬ 
ness, would talk of Sana, his beloved, for whom his 
heart was crying bitterly. He hoped not, after hear¬ 
ing the jeers that greeted the words of the soldier. 
Furthermore, he could not reconcile himself to the 
thought of having Grace hear anything of Sana. 
But he reasoned to himself, that if what he had 
heard from others was true, he would talk. Much 
of this talking on the part of a patient he had been 
told was induced by suggestion on the part of the 
nurses at hand. 

Friday night, much to his embarrassment, he was 
shaved and prepared for the operation the following 
morning. Grace, he noticed, was also visibly em¬ 
barrassed, although he thought this strange, as it 
must have been a usual occurrence in the line of 


UNDER THE KNIFE 


239 


duty. He could not account for it, but he was too 
tired and hungry to bother much about her feelings 
toward him. Hungry he was, and much to his 
chagrin had to be satisfied with half a roll and a 
glass of water. 

Early the next morning Grace again came to his 
side to make him ready for the ordeal. Another 
coat of iodine, “war paint” she called it, was ap¬ 
plied to his side, a white woolen shirt and a pair of 
long woolen stockings put on him and he was placed 
upon a wheel stretcher. Blankets were put over 
him with his arms beneath them, and his body tight¬ 
ened down with two strong belts. A victim, trussed 
for the slaughter, Carl mused bitterly. 

In the operating room Carl was turned over to 
three women nurses; the history of his case being 
given them. Without further ado he was trans¬ 
ferred to the operating table. 

A young French doctor was attending to the ether 
apparatus while a nurse came up to Carl with a 
book in her hand and requested his signature. Ask¬ 
ing what this meant, he was told that it was but a 
matter of routine. Anticipating that he was expected 
to sign his life away before the operation, in case 
he died from it, the nurse confirmed his belief. Re¬ 
luctantly Carl signed the book, knowing that he had 
no alternative. 


2 4 o UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

The doctor was having some trouble with the 
ether bottles and the attachment of the gas mask. 
While fixing things, he laughingly told a story of 
two boys, who were bragging about their fathers— 
the one had said that his father had electricity in 
his hair to which the other retorted that his father 
had gas on his stomach. 

Disgusted beyond words at this lack of considera¬ 
tion on the doctor’s part for his patient, Carl heard 
him say, “Come, you had better take some gas now.” 

The mask was adjusted over his face and the 
ether turned on. A sweet sickening odor entered 
Carl’s nostrils followed by a light headed feeling. 
The stuff was doing its work fast. Making up his 
mind that he would not say a word of Sana, when 
coming out of the ether, he began to count. The 
possibility of his never coming out of it did not 
occur to him. He had reached the count of nine 
when sparks of all colors and shades, radiated from 
his brain, with a tremendous noise, to all corners of 
the room and beyond. They were like sparks from 
a huge induction coil of a wireless station. The 
count was thirteen when Carl suddenly exclaimed, 
“Oh no—I am not in an electric chair!” 

Through his mind ran the argument he had so 
often propounded to the men of his profession. He 
was firmly convinced a person electrocuted in an 



UNDER THE KNIFE 


241 

electric chair, was not dead and that he could be 
revived with a high frequency apparatus. Many an 
electrical equipment operator has been successfully 
revived after receiving equally as heavy or even 
more powerful electrical shocks from high tension 
apparatus in electrical central stations. These oper¬ 
ators lay on the ground as though really dead: 
their hearts do not beat and any doctor would pro¬ 
nounce them dead; yet many of them are brought 
to life again. 

After official electrocutions an autopsy is per¬ 
formed upon the body, and the heart removed. 
This, of course, kills the person, but the electrical 
shocks do not necessarily kill. 

No state, he had contended, making use of the 
barbaric electrocution, would dare to apply high 
frequency apparatus to a criminal after he had been 
removed from the electric chair. It would expose 
the fact that many an individual had not been 
legally and according to law, executed in the electric 
chair. 

When Carl stopped counting the doctor asked him 
“Do you hear me?” 

Carl wanted to reply in the affirmative, but his 
voice failed him. So he nodded his head in answer 
to the query. 


242 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

The young physician promptly exclaimed, “Hell 
you do!” 

Carl meekly thought, “I ought to know better.” 

He now heard Dr. Thuillier, the chief surgeon, 
say, “Well, where is that young American?” 

Then someone placed a hand on his left arm and 
he became unconscious instantly. From that time 
on, until three hours later, he knew nothing of what 
was happening to him. 

Besides the doctors and nurses participating in the 
operation, there were several other doctors or in¬ 
ternes present to study the case. To these, Dr 
Thuillier explained the nature of the accidental in¬ 
jury and the method of operating. The work was 
quite complicated because of the delay that had en¬ 
sued since the time of the accident. At the end of 
an hour, however, Carl was wheeled back to the 
ward and put to bed, with Nurse Grace to watch 
over him until he came out of the ether. 

While still under the ether, Carl dreamed that 
he had at last perfected an invention on which he 
had been working for years. This invention was 
the one thing that could be acclaimed as one hun¬ 
dred per cent perfect. His long cherished dreams 
had come true! He had devised an apparatus by 
means of which he could throw upon a screen scenes 
from any part of the globe, that is, the actual scenes 


UNDER THE KNIFE 


243 


of happenings as they were taking place at some 
distant point the very moment we projected them 
upon the screen in front of his machine. Incidents 
taking place thousands of miles away were pictured 
before one’s eyes as if they were at the scene itself. 
If he wanted a street scene say of San Francisco, 
Tokio, Paris or London, all he would have to do 
would be to place the indicator upon the dial map, 
pointing to the city in question, and it was done— 
the scene was before his eyes. 

Carl had been industriously working on this tele¬ 
photo device during the war. His idea was to ob¬ 
serve the movement of the armies, believing that 
with it he could end the war and prevent all future 
wars. No military movement would be secret, no 
advance unobserved, with his machine. 

The idea was first born in his mind after a talk 
with a great detective who was looking for evidence 
against some suspected criminals. Carl had come 
to the detective’s aid with a device whereby he could 
see what was going on in a closed room. He placed 
wires along the picture molding of the room, during 
the suspected one’s absence, and the four ends of the 
wire he provided with “eyes,” his secret invention. 
These wires led from the room to a place at some 
distance away, where the apparatus reflected the en¬ 
tire room upon a large mirror. 


244 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


This device he had improved upon until at last, 
instead of wires and the “eyes” he had been able 
to accomplish the same result by means of wireless. 

The war over, he continued his experiments on 
the device, intending to use it in connection with his 
lectures on city planning. 

In his delirium, he was addressing a large audi¬ 
ence and demonstrating his device. He pointed the 
indicator to Paris, saying, “Here we have a city, 
where Baron Hausmann, under the great Napoleon, 
remodeled the entire city, broke through new thor¬ 
oughfares, made plazas and squares, at an expense 
of some two hundred and thirty million dollars. 
The scene before you is that of the Place du Chate- 
let, with the monument at the end of the bridge, 
or rather beyond the bridge, acting as a focal point. 
Note the good treatment of the traffic waterway, the 
well planned boulevards, the uniform height of the 
buildings as well as the ornamental shade trees on 
both sides of all streets. Surely, here are examples 
for our American cities.” 

Turning the indicator upon Duesseldorf, one of 
the foremost cities, where the art of city planning 
has been practised for generations, Carl said, “Here 
is the river promenade on the Rhine in Duesseldorf. 
Where can we find in our own country a similar 
scene of such civic improvement? At the lower 


UNDER THE KNIFE 


24 s 


level you see the electric unloading machinery and 
the busy vehicles hauling away the freight of the 
river boats. On the upper level in the wide prome¬ 
nade, flanked on one side with shade trees and on the 
other with the great balustrade, giving an open view 
of the river and the monumental bridge in the dis¬ 
tance. Observe, also, the highly ornamental elec¬ 
troliers. Duesseldorf is no larger than Jersey City, 
but who ever goes to Jersey City for the sake of 
seeing anything beautiful. Where could we, in our 
own country, find such a scene, as this, of business 
and pleasure combined. Yet all this could be dupli¬ 
cated in America if the principle were but under¬ 
stood. As will be seen, city planning develops artis¬ 
tic taste, civic pride and patriotism. It also makes 
for better citizenship, adds to our comfort and our 
happiness and it stimulates industrial prosperity. 

“Of late we have heard so much of Tut-Ankh- 
Amen, one of the great Pharaohs. Let us see if we 
can locate him.” Shifting the indicator hack and 
forth over the map of Egypt, Carl continued, “Here 
we have the sand waves sweeping in their slow but 
inevitable march past the silent Sphinx and the pyra¬ 
mids at Luxor. Yes, here it is. We see before us 
the last resting-place of a great Pharaoh, which 
for some 3400 years has remained undisturbed. 


246 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

But now it has been entered and its valuable treas¬ 
ures taken away by a group of archeologists. 

“Witness the procession of visitors in carriages 
and on camel’s back, all come to gape with awe at 
the funeral fittings of a king. We cannot look down 
into the tomb itself, but we can see the valuable 
treasures as they are carefully carried away on 
stretchers borne by native Egyptians who apparently 
have no scruples against despoiling the grave of a 
ruler of their country. 

“We see here treasure chests, costly vases, chairs, 
thrones and the like, as well as the mummy of the 
king. Art as well as history may gain to a great ex¬ 
tent, but let us consider a while. Is it right? 

“Tut-Ankh-Amen, as well as the other Pharaohs, 
was buried according to the rites of the religion of 
Egypt. In his mortal life he had this great tomb 
prepared, so that his body could be placed in it, when 
death came, and remain untouched through the ages. 
After the king had been buried and the last seal put 
in place, the tomb became consecrated ground, hal¬ 
lowed to the memory of the life that had departed. 
Because of this, many a logical mind will consider 
the ruthless digging up of the remains a ghoulish 
act and a desecration of the body’s last resting-place. 
Surely if it were the grave of a less notable person 
than an ancient Pharaoh such would be the descrip- 


UNDER THE KNIFE 


247 


tion of the act and the diggers would be called 
‘ghouls’ and ‘grave robbers’ instead of archeolo¬ 
gists. 

“What would be said if some wealthy or more 
powerful foreign nation came to our own country 
to carry away the bodies of our great Washington 
or Lincoln, or say of some of our soldiers who lost 
their lives on the field of battle? 

“It may be said that the removal of these highly 
valuable treasures will serve mankind, but mankind 
could be better served if the cost of such removal 
were used in the aiding of needy peoples. 

“Beneath Constantinople, the Turkish capital, are 
buried the treasures of the old Pashas, and this is 
one of the reasons that makes both England and 
Russia so anxious to control that city. 

“The treasures buried with Kings, Pashas or 
Pharaohs were buried in accordance with the be¬ 
liefs of the people, and no other nation, especially 
a nation of a different religion, should have the right 
to exploit these graves and treasures to their own 
advantage. 

“However, that is but a matter of opinion and has 
nothing to do with my new invention, the telephoto 
device, which has enabled you to see these things 
for yourselves.” 

Tremendous applause greeted Carl as he finished 


248 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

his lecture. Immensely elated, he shouted, “I am 
satisfied. I have a machine that is one hundred per 
cent, perfect.” 

The words were hardly out of his mouth, when a 
great seven-league boot kicked him off the globe, 
while a voice said, “The hell you have!” 

Falling through space he looked back and saw 
another man, a young fellow he had seen in his audi¬ 
ence, pick up the machine saying, “Here we have it, 
one hundred per cent, perfect.” 

And again came the gigantic boot and the voice, 
“The hell you have!” and he, too, slid off the 
planet. 

A second man, one of the type termed “nut” came 
along and seeing the device, called out gleefully, 
“Years ago I invented this, but could not make it 
work. Now I shall claim it mine.” 

And again that sneering “The hell you will!” fol¬ 
lowed by so forceful a kick that the old man flew in 
a wide arc over Carl’s head and descended rapidly 
to the depths beneath. 

All the while Carl noticed that it was becoming 
hotter and hotter. At first he could not grasp the 
meaning of it, but then came the dawning of the 
truth that Hades was his destination. He turned 
around and screamed, “What is all this about?” 

From somewhere in the far distance, he heard a 


UNDER THE KNIFE 


249 


deep even voice respond, “Young man, if everybody 
should come into the possession of one hundred per 
cent, perfection, which by the way is an impossibility, 
there would be no incentive for improvement, and 
that would stagnate all possible progress.” 

Carl became intensely hot and was perspiring 
dreadfully. His very vitals were burning and a ter¬ 
rible thirst was consuming him, but he managed to 
say, “But I have it and I am going to hold on to it!” 

A hand was on his arm, and a melancholy yet 
sweet voice barely audible came to him, saying, 
“Please, Mr. Lohman, have a drink.” 

Carl was but half awake, his mind still floating in 
airy regions, but he managed to rouse himself, and 
opening his eyes, he saw his charming nurse, Grace, 
standing at the side of his bed. 

A teaspoonful of warm water was poured between 
his parched lips. That was all he could have just 
then, but to the fevered man it was nectar of the 
gods. 

Carl, on regaining full consciousness was anxious 
to know w'hether he had said anything of Sana dur¬ 
ing his coma. He questioned nurse Grace guard¬ 
edly, but was told that he had only grunted like a 
little pig for a time and then had mechanically de¬ 
livered a lecture on the tombs of the Pharaohs. 

Satisfied, Carl dosed off into a fitful sleep, to be 


250 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

awakened some hours later, by plaintive strains of 
music. Twisting his head in the direction from 
which the sounds came, Carl beheld three musicians 
standing at the entrance of the ward. He recalled 
then, of having heard that they came every Saturday 
evening to play to the suffering patients. 

Upon the strangely stirred spirit of Carl, the 
magic of this weird native music had a subtle effect, 
and burying his face in the pillow, he wept bitterly, 
weeping only as a strong man can weep. 

That night no sleep would come to his tired eyes. 
The pain in his side had increased much to his alarm. 
Speaking of it to the night nurse, she gave him an 
injection, but it had little effect. Through the long 
hours of the silent night he lay staring with unseeing 
eyes at the ceiling above him. 

The whole of the next day Carl received no nour¬ 
ishment save a glass of lemon water, although food 
was promised him the following day. That night 
another injection of morphine was given him, and 
peaceful sleep came to the tired man. 

One hospital day was like another. But on the 
sixth day Carl became very ill. His pulse raced and 
his temperature rose rapidly. A high fever set in, 
torturing his very soul. 

Carl noted that the night nurse had spoken to 
Grace of his condition when she arrived in the morn- 


UNDER THE KNIFE 


251 


ing. Her serious face, when asking him how he felt, 
worried Carl greatly. He began to ponder on the 
success of the operation. Was it likely to end 
fatally? But then he did not care. Sana was gone, 
burned alive, and in a large measure due to his own 
fault. Ever since that fateful hour he had been 
thinking of how he could have saved his beloved if 
he had only acted the part of the hero; the hero of 
story book and screen. He had saved Sana from 
the clutches of Amshied and he blamed himself for 
not having taken sufficient precautions when leaving 
the burning building. As yet he did not know how 
he had been put out of action—all he remembered 
was the blow that sent him reeling down in a heap. 

Such thoughts depressed him, and he cared little 
whether he lived or not. 

Although puzzled at this turn of affairs, Grace 
assured him that he was in no great danger. Two 
assistant doctors, in the absence of the head doctor, 
were called, but they could not say just what was 
the matter. When Dr. Thuillier came, however, a 
hasty examination was all that was necessary to dis¬ 
close the nature of the trouble. An abscess had 
formed in the wound, and it was necessary to re¬ 
open it. This was immediately done, the abscess 
removed, and the incision closed. 



252 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

After this second operation Carl’s fever left him 
and he was much easier. 

For three long weeks after that Carl remained 
at the hospital, gaining in strength slowly but surely. 
During this time Grace was constantly at his side, 
tenderly nursing him with all possible skill and 
patience. 

At last came the day when he was pronounced 
fit to leave. During the weeks of his convalescence, 
Grace had often told him of her desire to return to 
New York—she was tired of the desert, of the hos¬ 
pital, of everything in this foreign land. She wanted 
to go home. So it had been mutually agreed that 
they would go home together. 

So together, Carl and Grace, bade goodbye to 
their friends at Marakesh and left for Mogador, 
where they hoped to find passage by steamer to 
New York. 



CHAPTER XII 


THE RUM RUNNERS 


C ARL and Grace had luck in catching the 
boat. Sailings from Mogador are few 
and far between, but the English freight 
steamer “Resolute” was at the wharf, loading for a 
return trip to New York. Inquiring of the vessel’s 
master as to the chances of securing passage, Carl 
was directed to the purser’s office, where he made 
arrangements for himself and Grace. Besides them¬ 
selves, three other passengers had been booked for 
the trip. 

Shortly afterward the steamer weighed anchor, 
and Grace and Carl, standing at the rail, waved 
farewell to the shores of Africa. 

Carl soon made friends with the other men pas¬ 
sengers, and much to his amazement, soon discov¬ 
ered that the “Resolute” was a rum boat, operated 
by a New York bootlegging gang. Captain Billings 
and the first and second officers, he learned, were in 
the pay of this gang and were known to be ruthless 
in their methods of dealing with any member of the 
crew who saw fit to disagree with them. Billings 


253 


254 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

was an American, who prior to taking up this 
calling, had been master of a Gloucester fishing 
schooner. Although legally without right to take 
charge of a steamer of the size of the “Resolute,” 
he had been given papers by the English concern, 
which, to all appearances, operated the steamer as 
a freight boat, but which, in truth, was but a sub¬ 
sidiary of the rum running organization. 

He learned, too, that the vessel had stowed away 
in its holds, some ninety thousand gallons of whisky 
and brandy, with a value of perhaps seven hundred 
and fifty thousand dollars. This liquor had been 
taken aboard at Cadiz, in Spain, to which port it 
had been originally shipped from England and 
France. From Cadiz the ship had gone to Moga- 
dor, which was listed as one of its ports of call, to 
take on a miscellaneous cargo. This, Carl was as¬ 
sured, was but another step in the concealing of the 
true nature of the steamer’s operations. 

Carl was told that if trouble arose he must not be 
surprised. Out of Cadiz, the crew had mutinied, 
but were subdued by Billings and his gunmen, who 
even now were somewhere on board the boat, ready 
at an instant’s notice to quell whatever disturbance 
might arise. At Mogador, the crew had deserted 
the vessel, and a new one engaged from the riffraff 
of the wharves. 


THE RUM RUNNERS 


255 


Naturally, Carl had many doubts as to the truth 
of his informant’s statements, but these doubts were 
driven from his mind the following morning. He 
had been awakened by loud voices and general up¬ 
roar. Upon investigating, he found that the crew 
had discovered the true nature of the cargo, and had 
demanded more pay. Their demands being refused, 
they had tried to persuade Billings to put back for 
Mogador. In this, too, they failed. 

Then they had tried more direct action to obtain 
their “just rights” as they called them. But, to their 
chagrin, the four gunmen, of whom Carl had heard, 
were upon them, with threats of gun play if they 
did not go aft. The men could not resist now and 
were willing to cry “quits!” 

Billings, however, wished to set his new crew an 
example, so three of the men, at his command, were 
clamped into irons and made prisoners below deck. 

Then to show the men that he could play square 
with them, although everyone doubted it, he prom¬ 
ised the crew a bonus at the end of the voyage and 
plenty of whisky during it. 

From that time on, Carl and the rest of the pas¬ 
sengers were wise in staying within the confines of 
the passenger deck. The crew was literally drunk 
at all times. How they managed to do their work 
was a mystery to Carl. 


256 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

The slow tedious passage to New York was quite 
uneventful after the uprising had been taken care of, 
with the exception of the storm they encountered 
the fifth day out. Early that morning a gale sprang 
up, increasing in velocity until, by noon, it was a 
roaring hurricane. The “Resolute” was slowed 
down to almost a standstill, her engines running just 
enough to keep her head on to the wind. During the 
storm, which lasted over fifteen hours, the decks 
were continually swept with great waves, which tore 
away rafts and boat, broke ports twenty feet above 
the water line and flooded the staterooms. One of 
the passengers ventured out on deck during the 
storm and was picked up with a broken leg, having 
been thrown heavily against the cabin walls by a 
great mass of water. 

The crew sobered up considerably during the 
storm, while the three men in irons were willing to 
promise anything if they were released. 

Some seventeen days later, Carl was told that they 
were nearing New York. Long before reaching 
port, however, wireless messages were sent out to 
the effect that the ship had developed some slight 
boiler troubles, at the same time giving her location, 
but adding that no assistance was needed. Knowing 
that there was nothing wrong below decks, Carl fig¬ 
ured that this was but a code message intended for 


THE RUM RUNNERS 


257 

the bootleggers, who were awaiting the arrival of 
the vessel. 

When the ship was about ten miles from New 
York, Captain Billings gave the command to cast 
anchor. At nine o’clock sharp that evening, a red 
rocket was sent up. Within half an hour, an aux¬ 
iliary schooner, the “Viking,” commanded by a 
former Customs guard, was lying alongside the 
“Resolute.” Under the direction of the Captain 
and the watchful eyes of the gunmen the crew was 
immediately set to discharging the treasure of liquor. 

This work kept the men busy the entire night. 
Early the next morning two fast motorboats came 
up and drew alongside the steamer. The men 
boarded the “Resolute” and with the aid of the lat¬ 
ter’s crew a large number of cases of whisky were 
put on board the motorboats, which then sped away. 

Hardly had they departed with their treasure, 
however, when one of the motorboats was stopped 
by a large powerboat. This took place near enough 
to the “Resolute” to enable Carl to read its name— 
“Buzzard.” The crew of this latter boat was heav¬ 
ily armed, and resistance being useless, the cases 
were transferred from the smaller boat to the 
“Buzzard,” which Carl now recognized as one of 
the much spoken of pirate outfits gotten up to ter¬ 
rorize other rum-running vessels. The commander 


258 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

of this vessel no doubt had an understanding with 
Captain Billings so that the latter’s employers, the 
New York bootlegging gang, would be cheated out 
of the liquor as well as the price the rum-runners 
had paid for it. 

The other motorboat, as well as the schooner 
“Viking” got away, but the “Resolute” was picked 
up by a Government dry navy patrol boat. This 
patrol had been on the lookout for a fleet of five 
English rum-laden vessels, some twenty miles out at 
sea off Fire Island. These English ships were sup¬ 
posed to be the mother ships of the rum-runners. 
The patrols had been given orders to board and 
capture the English vessels at high sea in order to 
test out a custom house ruling to the effect that the 
Federal authorities had the right to seize and search 
beyond the three mile limit. 

A comparatively small quantity of liquor was 
found on board, but a list was found of the foremost 
New York hotel managers, evidently bootleg cus¬ 
tomers. The vessel and cargo, as well as some three 
hundred thousand dollars in gold, found in an iron 
chest was seized by the authorities and taken to New 
York, where the officers and crew were confined to 
jail. At the court hearing the next morning, the 
Captain explained, “I delivered the liquor on the 
high seas and not within the jurisdiction of the 


THE RUM RUNNERS 


259 


United States Government. The liquor still on the 
ship is bound for Bermuda and not for your coun¬ 
try. I was at the wheel and when the prohibition 
boat came along I took it for a pirate ship. Even 
when I heard the voice through the megaphone, 
‘Heave to, we are Revenue men,’ I thought they 
were pirates and at first I intended ramming their 
ship. On second thought I demanded that they turn 
their searchlight on their flag and crew. When this 
was done I could see that they were indeed Revenue 
men and I was glad to have them come aboard a 
British boat outside the three mile limit.” 

The judge questioned Billings as to how he had 
come into possession of so large an amount of gold 
and was informed that it was customary for rum¬ 
running captains to demand gold, because of the 
large amount of counterfeit money the bootleggers 
had succeeded in passing in payment of the liquors. 

However, the prisoners were soon released. 
After a visit from the British Ambassador, the 
wheels of official Washington began turning and it 
was ruled that the three mile limit must be observed 
in the search of foreign vessels. The pressure 
brought to bear probably did not have “the freedom 
of the seas” so much in mind as the fact that three 
miles from shore meant easier work for the rum¬ 
runners in their efforts to land the contraband. 


260 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

In the meantime Carl had landed and re-estab¬ 
lished himself in New York. 

The accounts in the newspapers as to the seizing 
of the “Resolute” were amusing to him owing to the 
way facts appeared to have been juggled. He re¬ 
lated his story at the club that night to several of 
his friends. One of them, a Doctor Rowland, was 
rather surprised and proceeded to tell his side of 
the story. 

“My chauffeur, John, was arrested last night by 
a dry agent, while he had twenty cases of brandy in 
his car, which came from the ‘Resolute.’ He had 
gotten the liquor at an East River dock, from a mo¬ 
torboat, the crew of which was dispensing the 
liquor to a number of customers who had paid for 
protection. However, John’s load was seized just 
as he was about to enter my garage. The cases were 
unloaded into a truck standing nearby and John was 
placed under arrest and ordered to accompany the 
agent to the police station. After they had ridden 
a block or so, they let him go. The joke of the 
whole affair was that John was arrested by a man 
undoubtedly posing as a dry agent. He might have 
been one—but how do we know? I inquired and 
learned that the seizure of the liquor had not been 
reported to the authorities. So I am the loser, to 
the extent of two thousand dollars.” 



THE RUM RUNNERS 


261 


The two men enjoyed a hearty laugh as Doc* 
tor Rowland continued, “Last month, our friend 
White’s chauffeur was held up by two gunmen just 
as he was leaving the dock with a load of liquor in 
the evening. You know certain policemen are tipped 
off to stay away from that particular section for an 
hour or two on certain nights. The gunmen jumped 
into his car and pointing their revolvers at him, 
forced him to drive past an empty lot. When there 
he was kicked out and the thieves drove off with the 
car, liquor and all. White found the car standing 
in front of his home the next morning. 

“There is no questioning the fact that certain 
men accept bribes to have the booze removed from 
the boats, then put the holdup gang on to the trick, 
for a consideration, and still further benefit prob¬ 
ably by dividing the booty itself. Just plain double- 
crossing. 

“Last week the Federal grand jury censured sev¬ 
eral dry agents for taking large quantities of liquor 
out of government warehouses where it had been 
stored after seizure. These agents, however, 
claimed that they did not sell the stuff, but gave it 
away to their friends and relatives. Who wants to 
believe them? 

“There are all kinds and forms of rum-selling go¬ 
ing on and the men engaged in it make big and easy 


262 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


money. I understand that a certain party here in 
New York bought several yachts and is sailing them 
between New York and nearby English possessions, 
engaged in the bootlegging business. His yachts 
keep outside of the three mile limit where the rum¬ 
runners meet them with hard cash. He is making 
a lot of money and is running no risk. Once the 
stuff is on land there is no lack of buyers. And some 
way is always found to supply their wants. In fact 
a friend of mine told me that in one of our boroughs 
whisky is distributed from oil delivery wagons in 
the conventional oil cans. These wagons have regu¬ 
lar routes, calling on their established customers 
once a week.” 

“Look here,” said Carl, “you are a good writer; 
why don’t you write a story about these pirates, the 
double dealing crooks and dishonest dry agents. It 
would make corking good reading and the people 
would see that our country, after all, is not as dry 
as the Sahara.” 

“No, thank you. I don’t want to be a ‘marked 
man.’ You know they would get me in the long run, 
even if they had to ‘frame me’ and ‘frame me’ they 
would. You, as every one else who wishes to, know 
too well the custom in this respect. And if they did 
‘frame me,’ they would have so very little respect 
for decency and honor that they would call me a 


THE RUM RUNNERS 263 

liar, even if I had made a sworn statement in ad¬ 
vance that such would be the case.” 

“Yes, thinking it over,” said Carl, “it seems best 
that we raise no objection to their crooked business 
and simply pretend that we know nothing about it.” 

“But it is a fine state of affairs when a law, such 
as the dry law, causes untold evils. It not only 
makes law and home breakers, but it makes liars 
and hypocrites. It causes children to disrespect 
their parents; it causes divorces and as the records 
show, it fills the jails more than ever. Doctors are 
against it, as it undermines health and in many a 
case death has been the result of the lack of alcoholic 
stimulant. Besides it costs the people more in the 
way of taxation to make up the losses in revenue 
which were formerly derived from breweries, sa¬ 
loons and distilleries. Now the balance has to be 
struck by taxing the dear public. 

“While home brew is much in vogue, most of the 
stuff would kill an elephant. We are surely getting 
ourselves into a nice mess, even to the extent of get¬ 
ting into difficulties with foreign diplomats and their 
countries. And what is probably worst of all is 
the frightful use of deadly drugs and its disastrous 
consequences. 

“There is no getting away from it. It under- 


264 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

mines the morals and health, and how many murders 
have already been committed on account of it.” 

“It’s a great life if you don’t weaken.” Carl 
laughed. ‘‘Yes, it’s a great life if you don’t 
weaken! But what becomes of the country? This 
may go on for some years, with conditions getting 
worse daily, while our dry advocates and agents will 
continue to tell us through the papers, and otherwise, 
that every day in every way the country is getting 
drier and drier. 

“That they are deliberately distorting the truth 
of the situation and quoting figures and so-called 
facts, which they themselves do not believe, will not 
deter them in their efforts to make the people like it. 
That is their big job—make the people like the 
medicine the quacks prescribed for them. 

“One of the surest indications of public opinion is 
the way politicians and candidates use the conditions 
as they now exist in their efforts to get into office. 
Prior to the going to the polls, these candidates ap¬ 
peal to the people’s reason, or state of mind, as they 
call it—appeal to them to abolish the dry law; to 
regain the liberties they have lost. Oh, yes, these 
candidates, if elected, will restore those lost liber¬ 
ties ! Oh, yes, they will—not. But the people fall 
for it—and that helps, from a political point of 


view. 



THE RUM RUNNERS 


265 

“As you have, of course, found out through your 
own observations, these pre-election promises are 
never kept. After election, promises are memories 
only—and then often only in the minds of the peo¬ 
ple who elected that particular candidate to office. 
He immediately even discards the memory of his 
promises. 

“From the voter’s point of view the outcome is to 
be regretted, as is true of many other issues that 
arise from time to time. But it shows the sentiment 
of the people. If they were for prohibition and the 
consequent results of such enforcement as we have 
had foisted upon us, office seekers would never 
dream of appealing to them as they do. 

“But to get back to those who do preach prohibi¬ 
tion, even if they do not practise it. Do you know, 
that many of these ‘private’ dry agents get big pay 
from wealthy individuals, who accumulated their 
wealth while the country was wet?” 

“You mean to say,” questioned Carl, “that indi¬ 
vidual contributions are made to make the country 
dry?” 

“Of course. Where do you suppose these fanat¬ 
ics get the money with which to carry on their lecture 
tours and campaigns? They haven’t any money of 
their own to speak of, and the government doesn’t 


266 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

pay them. The government has its own dry 
crusaders.” 

“Oh, I see,” Carl resumed. “These private indi¬ 
viduals are making a good living by advocating, for 
a price, the doctrine that it would be a good thing 
for the welfare of the people and the country, if 
they were deprived of a glass of beer or wine. 

“I have no objection to the abolishing of strong 
drink—such as brandy and whisky, but it is idiotic 
hypocrisy to believe that a hundred million people 
should change their custom overnight. Did you 
ever think it over? If the customs of a nation can 
be changed overnight, at the command of a few, 
what sort of stuff must the people be made of? 

“I can see where an individual here and there 
could give up voluntarily a customary indulgence 
for a short time, as we often do around New Year’s, 
and then it is a matter of testing one’s power of will, 
but it is beyond conception to believe that an entire 
nation can be dictated to, and made to abide by a 
law that makes it a crime to indulge in a glass of 
four per cent, beer when the day before it was 
within the law to consume one hundred proof.” 

“No, Carl, you haven’t got that quite right!” 

“And why not?” 

“You can drink all you want, or rather, can get. 
All the liquor you, or any other wealthy and wise 


THE RUM RUNNERS 


267 

man, may have stored away in your cellar is yours 
for the drinking. The law does not specify that you 
must not drink it. It is not criminal to try it, but it 
is illegal to sell or transport it to your home.” 

“That is idiotic!” shouted Carl. 

“But it is a fact,” came the retort. 

“This would favor, no doubt, the well-to-do, who 
are well able to pay the price of replenishing their 
private stock.” 

“Of course. The poor devil cannot afford a cel¬ 
lar full. His stock at best, no doubt, is a flask on 
his hip—if he has the coin, and then he runs the risk 
of being arrested for having it on him. They could 
even take his trousers away from him, if they felt 
like living up to the very letter of the law. His 
trousers would be termed the vehicle of transporta¬ 
tion. 

“That is the one reason why so much home-brew 
is being made. Some of it would make a rabbit fight 
a bulldog, but the people want it—and they pay the 
price. As you know thousands have died drinking 
the stuff.” 

“Too bad. But what about our government which 
caused this law T to be passed?” 

“It is responsible for all this misery, for the law¬ 
lessness, that is seen on every hand. It is just as 
much responsible for such conditions as England was 


268 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

when she forced upon China the use of drugs. You 
know, China did not want the drugs, so England 
warred upon her, with the result that millions of 
Chinamen have died from the use of the drugs. 

“Then, too, for years the unscrupulous Chinamen, 
or his agents, sells the drug to the ever increasing 
American trade. It is stated that since our country 
became dry, more of the deadly drugs are used here 
than in all other countries of the world combined.” 

“And the government at Washington stands for 
that? Impossible!” 

“But what can they do? The government tries 
to stop the smuggling of drugs into this country. 
But as the people want the drug, either because of 
the high cost of alcoholic stimulant, or the scarcity 
of it, they are forever devising new schemes for 
bringing it in, so that the government, while it does 
prevent the smuggling of some of it, is unable to 
prevent the drug from getting into the country. 
Once in the hands of the peddlers in this country it 
is an easy matter for it to be distributed among their 
customers. 

“And not only are they supplying old hands at 
the game, but they are continually creating a new 
demand, by teaching the habits to others. Why, we 
read in the papers of school children and young girls 
barely out of their teens using drugs. Were con- 


THE RUM RUNNERS 


269 

ditions the same before prohibition? No! You 
didn’t hear of children getting drunk, and getting 
drunk is wearing a halo compared to taking dope. 

“If half the money used in the enforcement of the 
dry law and the preaching of its propaganda was 
spent in an earnest effort to rid this country of the 
drug peril, there would be fewer jobs for keepers 
in insane asylums.” 

“Yes,” agreed Carl, “you are right there. And 
thinking of it, it is not alone health that suffers from 
such an evil. The nation will suffer in the end. 
Look at China. Prior to the use of drugs, China 
was a great nation. Some of the most useful of the 
inventions of the ages have come from China. 
What is it as a nation? The use of drugs made it 
stagnant. Its culture died out and it ceased to be a 
factor in the progress of the world. I wonder if 
that was England’s object when she forced drugs 
upon China. I understand, too, that in India, today, 
more drugs are consumed than prior to England’s 
taking hold there.” 

“That may be so. You know a nation or a people 
can be better exploited when in such a condition.” 

“Well, let England do what it wants. The duty 
of each and every American, however, is to look out 
for the welfare of his country. He must remember 
that America comes first and should do everything 


2 7 o UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

possible to keep the American people from being ex¬ 
ploited either from within or without.” 

“Quite right. But what do we want to do? It is 
against the law to sell liquor, but not to drink it. 
Come into the locker room, I have a little left.” 

“Yes, it is a great life if you don’t weaken.” 


CHAPTER XIII 


THE DEADLY RIVAL 

W HEN Carl reached his office, to take up 
once more his engineering work he found 
Grace already awaiting him, ready to 
take up her secretarial duties. 

When Grace had first expressed the desire to re¬ 
turn to New York, she confessed to a lack of funds. 
Carl, grateful for the tender care she had taken of 
him while he was ill at the hospital, offered to pay 
her passage to New York. This she consented to, 
with the stipulation that she be given work at his 
office where a weekly deduction could be made from 
her salary until the money he had advanced was re¬ 
paid. It was with this understanding, then, that she 
accompanied Carl to New York. 

Carl instructed her as to her duties, but did not 
notice that her eyes seemed to flash with an eager 
light and an avid gleam, such as the mere technique 
of the work could never have provoked. She 
seemed to bask in the favor of his presence and look; 
to wither and wilt when he withdrew from her gaze, 


271 


272 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

as a flower might do, if withdrawn from the light 
and the glow of the life-giving sun. 

While his business mail had been attended to dur¬ 
ing his absence, quite a collection of personal mail 
awaited him. He was too busy for the moment to 
pay much attention to it and gave the envelopes but 
a passing glance, as if looking for something of espe¬ 
cial interest or note. Not finding what he desired, 
the entire lot was set aside for more leisurely perusal. 

During the homeward journey, he had laid plans 
for the irrigation of the Sahara, and with his assist¬ 
ant, in his private office, he discussed the making of 
these plans for a scientific irrigation system, to take 
the place of the French plan for flooding the Sahara 
by means of a canal from the ocean. 

With this work thus auspiciously commenced, 
Carl was at liberty to give more careful considera¬ 
tion to his private matters, including that stack of 
mail. On second thought, however, he waited until 
the evening when the office force had left before he 
sat down to the task. 

The contents of the letters were practically all 
alike, only that the meaning in each was differently 
expressed, some were clever, some witty, some down¬ 
right dull. But Carl was used to that. Among them 
were invitations to affairs that were already num¬ 
bered among the annals of the past and others of a 


THE DEADLY RIVAL 


273 

future time, which he made note of in anticipation 
of attending them, if circumstances permitted. 

He had started his plans for the Sahara irrigating 
scheme, but with Sana gone there was not the same 
enthusiasm and initiative as there was prior to that 
fateful trip into the desert when they had been 
trapped by Amshied and when he had so utterly 
failed to play the hero, the rescuer of his beloved 
one. The spur was gone. Again, there came to 
him Sana’s promise that she would give anything 
a woman could give to the man, who of course was 
Carl, who saved her homestead at the Gurara Oasis. 
But now she was dead and his desire to work on the 
Sahara plan was likewise dying. 

Lie cursed the hour when Sana and he, on the pre¬ 
tense of requiring refreshments—while in reality it 
was Sana’s desire to listen to the music, came to the 
spot destined to prove so fateful. And after all, it 
was but the monotonous tones issuing from the flute 
of a snake charmer. 

The minute attention Grace paid Carl in her first 
week in the office, was not, in her mind, sufficiently 
reciprocated—so she thought, although she realized 
that she was but an employee. But had she not done 
her level best to bring him back to health, when he 
was lying prostrate in the hospital? That this was 
her duty as a nurse, did not occur to her. She loved 



UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


274 

Carl and was determined to secure his love. In what 
way she secured it, did not matter to her. Well 
she knew that Carl in paying her passage home had 
unconsciously stepped into a trap, from which he 
would have difficulty in extricating himself once the 
meshes of the net had enfolded him. The Mann 
Act deals severely with any offender, whose offense 
comes within its provisions and Grace knew how 
easy it would be to lend color to the story of her 
passage home, even though it were an act of charity 
on Carl’s part. 

She did not care to entertain this thought, yet it 
occurred to her mind time and time again when Carl 
busily engaged appeared to be paying no attention 
to her. His seemed an iceberg attitude, which made 
her shiver. But she was ready to dig the flame out 
of the ice. 

For some time Grace had become anxious, fearing 
that Carl knew or might come to know of the cable¬ 
gram she had withheld from him. Yet, how could 
he learn of it? Did she not receive it early in the 
morning, just after she had unlocked the office and 
when she was entirely alone? 

It was her duty to open the mail, telegrams and 
the like. Thus she reasoned she had done no wrong, 
insofar as reading the cablegram was concerned. But 
to withhold it from her employer, even though she 


THE DEADLY RIVAL 


275 


considered him more in the light of a friend and 
even though it came from a woman she felt to be 
her rival, equally if not more in love with Carl— 
was this not a wrong of a hideous kind? Was it 
not even branded with the name of crime? 

BELOVED CARL. I AM HOME AGAIN. NOTHING 

SERIOUS HAPPENED. LETTER WILL FOLLOW. 

YOUR LOVING AND LONGING SANA. 

These were the words that flashed across the mind 
of the guilty girl, whenever her eyes rested upon 
Carl. They seemed to be graven on her mind in 
letters of flame. To be near him in the taking of 
his dictation was one of the uncertain pleasures of 
her daily life. She knew that Carl had been deeply 
in love with Sana, but she knew too that he believed 
Sana was dead. At the same time that she feared, 
she also was angered by the fact that Carl’s affection 
even now seemed to be inevitably riveted upon a 
thing which for him Death had long since claimed. 
She, Grace, was still young and comely, yet he passed 
her by in his worship at a shrine wherein the image 
lay crumbling to the dust. This thought alone 
caused the girl to pursue the course, which even to 
herself was no source of joy, but a hideous curse, 
and insidious menace that seemed to follow her as 
a shadow even on the brightest day and as a blight- 


276 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

ing curse even in moments that should have given a 

small measure of joy and happiness. 

To use the effect of the Mann Act as a stepping 

stone, to gain her desires often occurred to her, but, 

although she did not mind the notoriety attached to 

it she did not know how to go about it other than 

# 

to openly accuse Carl. At this she balked. She 
would bide her time. He did not know Sana was 
alive and if she could help it, he would never know. 
And who could tell but what with the passing of 
the days Carl might turn to Grace for friendship. 

The change in Grace became so obvious, that even 
Carl was forced to take notice of it, but he could 
not account for it. 

Grace watched every incoming mail very closely, 
for the cablegram had stated, a letter would follow. 
That letter must never reach Carl, as that would 
mean the failure of all her plans. No amount of 
watching, no amount of worry, would be too great 
a price, Grace reasoned, to pay for the opportunity 
of getting that letter in her possession. 

Then, at last, came the long watched-for missive! 
There it lay on the desk before her, with its 
African stamp and postmark. The woman’s hand 
with which it had been addressed spoke plainly that 
this letter was from Sana, Carl’s true love. 

What should she do with it? Should she play the 


THE DEADLY RIVAL 


2 77 


game squarely and place the letter on Carl’s desk 
for him to read? The good in her made a vain 
effort to fight down the evil. She would keep it. 
Carl must not have it. No, a thousand times no! 

All that day she kept the letter hidden at her 
bosom. How it seemed to burn her flesh one mo¬ 
ment and freeze her very blood the next! It seemed 
to Grace that it would shriek out its message to the 
man from whom she was hiding it. But she did 
not falter in her evil purpose. Although heart sick 
and weary at the realization of her wrong, she clung 
to it with grim resolve. 

At last the day, the longest she had ever lived, 
came to an end and she hurried home eager to read 
that letter, but weighed down with a nameless fear, 
with strange foreboding. 

It was but the work of a moment to unseal the 
envelope over the steam of a kettle. With feverish 
haste, she drew out its contents, and read, half aloud, 
with halting words: 

My Beloved Carl: 

I am home again with my mother, whom I found 
before the charred cross you had erected over what 
you thought was my grave. Dear heart, I was over¬ 
joyed to hear that you were alive. I had thought 
that the savage cavemen had done their worst to 
you. When they carried me away, and later while 
lying in their cave I prayed to God to receive your 
soul with mercy. But now I am thanking Him for 


278 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

having kept you alive. I can hardly believe it, 
darling. 

The cavemen held the slave girl, Cintani and my¬ 
self captives for several days, but Cintani, she is a 
clever one, managed to poison them, so that we es¬ 
caped. 

On our way home we came across de Rochelle, 
who was almost dead with thirst and fever. Per¬ 
haps I shouldn’t have done it, but I gave him water 
and helped him to his feet. He came along with 
us to the site of the burned cabin where mother was 
praying for me. At the sight of me, she fainted 
dead away. You can well imagine the shock it 
would be. 

De Rochelle has confessed that he set the place 
on fire, trying to help us, and that he followed the 
cavemen when they carried me off. This may be 
true, but I do not believe him. At any rate, he has 
promised to leave Timbuktoo as soon as he has 
sufficient strength to do so. So don’t worry about 
him, dear. 

“In the desert a fountain is springing, 

In the wild waste there still is a tree, 

And a bird in the solitude singing 
Which speaks to my spirit of thee.” 

I shall write you more in a day or two. At pres¬ 
ent I am worn out and still too much excited in the 
happiness and knowledge that my Carl is still among 
the living. With heaps of love and kisses, 

Your Sana. 

To this letter was pinned a short note to the effect 
that, because of incorrect address on the first envel¬ 
ope, the letter had been returned to her after some 


THE DEADLY RIVAL 


279 


seven weeks had passed, and that she had promptly 
readdressed it correctly and with the second sending 
had also dispatched a cablegram. 

Grace said to herself, “Poor thing, writing a 
wrong address on a letter to her lover. However, 
it finally found its destination. Here it is! And the 
cablegram!” 

As Grace read this loving message, her face grew 
livid and her eyes expanded and contracted in her 
rage. She rose up suddenly, exclaiming through 
quivering lips, “Why couldn’t she have died, or that 
caveman taken her. Then I should not have to 
suffer now. Then she would have been out of my 
way.” 

For an hour she sat in the chair, where she had 
thrown herself in a fit of rage, torturing herself with 
cruel thoughts. But finally the madness died down, 
and the look of hatred was replaced by one of ut¬ 
most depression and despair. 

“What is the use? Sooner or later he will learn 
that his desert flame is still burning.” 

At this juncture, Grace rose and replaced the 
message within the envelope, sealing it carefully once 
more. Yes, it would be for the best if she turned 
it over to its rightful owner. With that thought in 
mind she sought the comfort of her pillows. 

The next morning, however, the good resolution 


280 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


of the night before had paled. Grace seized upon 
the letter and striking a match soon reduced Sana’s 
message to a little heap of black fragments, saying 
with a bitter laugh “Here goes Carl’s flame like the 
will-of-the-whisp, flitting over the ground in its mis¬ 
leading way, lasting but a little while.” 

But Grace could not alter the ways of Fate or 
Destiny! She might stave them off for the while, 
but all her plans and wiles could not prevent them 
from eventually rushing past her and on to the pre¬ 
destined goal. 

The days rolled by and still Grace bore her grudge 
against Carl. In what strange actions love chooses 
to express itself! And yet—did not the great 
Alexander burn Persepolis, the Gem of the East, in 
order to satisfy the whim of Thais, the courtesan? 
Did not Antony lose the world to follow in the 
footsteps of her who fled in vain back to her lost 
empire—Cleopatra? Yes, these are the ways of 
love and strange ways they are. 

Grace assumed an outward attitude that did not 
correspond with her feelings within. Whenever Carl 
addressed her she replied in a kindly, gracious tone, 
without hint of the madness that was eating away 
her soul. Carl appeared to be more business like 
and calculating than before. Often there were times 
when she longed to tell him her innermost feelings, 


THE DEADLY RIVAL 281 

but she could not bring herself to the point of do¬ 
ing so. 

And then Fate took a hand. 

What had brought Carl to the office so early that 
morning? Why should he have been there in the 
outer office when the postman delivered a second 
letter from Sana? Grace asked herself these ques¬ 
tions as reluctantly she passed the letter over to Carl. 
He took it mechanically and not recognizing Sana’s 
writing, laid the missive aside for a few moments 
while he took up duties of greater importance to 
him than any personal letter possibly could be. 

His evident non-recognition of the missive struck 
Grace rather forcibly as she watched him closely 
from her desk. No opportunity presented itself 
whereby she could secure this letter, and much to 
her chagrin she was obliged to watch Carl at last 
pick it up for reading. 

He studied the stamp and the postmark, and as 
he did so became very restless, excitably so and with 
more than eager fingers he tore open the envelope. 
A small slip of paper fluttered to the floor. Eagerly 
he stooped to pick it up. Unfolding it his surprised 
eyes were confronted with— 

HERE LIES MY BELOVED 
SANA VON SECKT 
REST IN PEACE 

CARL 



282 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

It was the note he had pinned to the charred cross 
on Sana’s grave. His face grew pale, and scarcely 
able to control his emotions he seized the letter itself 
and unfolded it. As he did so he stared with eyes 
that could not believe what they saw. He turned 
at once to the signature and the pallor of his face 
changed and gradually brightened while the fear¬ 
some look in his eyes was changed to one of wonder 
and joy. He read, scarcely breathing the while: 

My beloved Carl: 

As I promised you, I am writing you more at 
length now that I am at ease. I trust that my cable¬ 
gram and first letter found you in good health and 
spirits, dearest darling boy. 

I soon recovered from the experience I had in the 
captivity of those strange cavemen, and my quick 
recovery I ascribe to the joy of knowing that you, 
my sweetheart, were not murdered in cold blood. 
I went to church and thanked God for the wonderful 
escape you had. The terrible agony I endured until 
I met my mother kneeling before the cross, praying 
for my soul, I can hardly describe. All that I care 
about now is that you are safe. 

I shudder when I think of how that caveman 
struck you down with his club. You really had no 
chance. And with that same club, while I was pris¬ 
oner, he tried to make love to me. It is hard for 
me to realize today that such a brutal man should 
have let me off so easily, but then I suppose I should 
thank Cintani for this. She poisoned the entire 
tribe, at least, so I think, as mentioned in my first 
letter. When we escaped that night I took a last 


THE DEADLY RIVAL 


283 

look at those cruel people and they were all lying 
silently on the ground—a veritable court of the dead. 

After all, I believe cavemen to a certain extent 
are chivalrous to women. If it were not so, I would 
not be alive today. I would have taken the poison 
myself. You should have seen the way in which 
those women loved their mates—yet their affection 
is secured and held by the club. I wonder how it 
would be if you were king of the cavemen? But 
I suppose now that you are again in the company 
of the New York girls you no longer care for your 
“desert flower.” Was it after all, but a Fata Mor¬ 
gana that we held in our arms while sitting on the 
beach? Write me, dear, as I have been so lonesome 
since you left. I feel as if I were standing alone 
on a huge sand wave in the great desert, not certain 
of my foundation. 

But I do trust in you and I often thank our Lord 
that He sent you to me to save my life. How can 
I ever repay you? All I can give you is my devotion 
and love. Love is life. So come to my arms. 

Cintani, the little slave girl, is staying at my home. 
I am so grateful to her. If it had not been for 
her pluck the chances are I should not now be 
writing this letter. 

De Rochelle, as I wrote you, will shortly leave 
for France. My mother tells me he has recovered 
his strength although I have not seen him since my 
return. 

He promised to stay away from me and so far 
he has kept good that promise. To think that he 
should have set Amshied’s place on fire while you 
and I were there. He claims he did it to save me 
from Amshied, but this is probably on the same par 
with his desire to have me jump from the bridge. 

I am enclosing herewith my tombstone inscription 
“Here Sana, rest in peace. ...” As you now 


284 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

know you certainly did exaggerate. It is seldom that 
one has the opportunity of reading the inscription 
on one’s own gravemarker. But when I saw the 
grave you had made, I could not keep from crying. 
I want to tell you how I appreciate your kind manly 
spirit. You are just wonderful and I wish we were 
together now. But alas, I shall have to have pa¬ 
tience. 

With love and many kisses and regards from 
mother, yours as ever, 

Sana. 

Carl read the letter a second time. Then resting 
back in his arm chair he smiled. And yet the close 
observer might have perceived that his eyes were 
veiled with a slight mist—tears of joy that welled 
up from the soul. 

Grace, who had been watching Carl closely, grew 
furious, so much so, that she ground her teeth and 
bit her lips until the blood appeared. 

After Carl had again glanced over Sana’s mes¬ 
sage, he placed it in his pocket and summoned Grace 
into his private office to take dictation. Grace rose 
unsteadily from her chair, believing that Carl would 
dictate a message to Sana. That she determined, 
she would not stand for. Then the thought flashed 
through her mind that Carl surely would not expect 
her to attend to his love affairs. 

Carl commenced to dictate a business letter, but 
his mind was far from the subject. Repeatedly he 


THE DEADLY RIVAL 


285 


corrected himself and requested his secretary to read 
and re-read the notes which she had taken down. 
This mental disturbance in the usually fine poise of 
her employer could not go by Grace unnoticed. It 
served to anger her all the more to realize that his 
love for Sana had the power to drive all else from 
his mind and make him even oblivious to the duties 
of his office. 

Grace had read the letter back to him for the 
fourth time when Carl, even in his confused mental 
state realized that there was neither sense nor reason 
in what he had dictated. So he decided to commence 
again. A new beginning was made but that was 
about all. At last with a thin and rather wan smile 
he gave it up for the time being, dismissing his sec¬ 
retary with the words “Never mind, just now. I 
will get the letter out before five. Don’t fail to 
remind me of it.” 

A strange look had settled over Grace’s counte¬ 
nance as she returned to her desk. A serious ex¬ 
pression it was, born of the thought of the withheld 
cablegram and the purloined letter. She had suf¬ 
fered far more in proportion to her doings than the 
satisfaction she had derived from them. 

Presently Carl entered her office and in a strangely 
calm voice asked, “Miss Huntington, do you know 
if there is another party in this building by the name 


286 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


of Lohman? There was a cablegram and a letter 
that I should have received probably some ten days 
ago.” 

“I do not know,” was her rather quickly spoken 
reply, and a flush that spread over her face, but 
without any apparent hesitation she went on with 
her work. Fortunately, Carl did not notice her em¬ 
barrassment. 

“It is very strange. I ought to be able to find 
out the particulars of delivery at the cable office. 
Would you be kind enough to drop in there on your 
way to lunch and inquire if they have any record 
for the last two weeks, or longer, of receiving and 
delivering a cablegram for me from Timbuktoo, 
Africa? You know, when they deliver a cablegram 
the receiver must sign for it.” 

“Yes, surely, with pleasure,” came with difficulty 
from Grace’s pale lips and then momentarily sum¬ 
moning courage, she added, “Were you expecting a 
cablegram?” 

“No, but I received a letter in which it was stated 
that a cablegram had been sent.” 

“Was it an important message?” 

“Yes—and no.” 

“Probably the sender confirmed the cable wording 
in the letter you received this morning.” 

Carl turned without an answer, as though he had 


THE DEADLY RIVAL 287 

not heard this final remark and stepped into his own 
office. 

Her heart beat high, and fearfully she racked 
her mind for some way out of the difficulty in which 
she now perceived she had gotten herself. It would 
never do to let Carl make any personal inquiries at 
the cable office since then most assuredly she would 
be detected in the game she had tried to play. Many 
plans and schemes came to her mind but upon con¬ 
sideration none appeared to answer her purpose. 
As she murmured to herself, “I may as well take 
the chance and pretend to have stopped there. He 
would never know the difference and I can easily 
report that no such cablegram had been received.” 

H er lunch hour having arrived she prepared to 
go out, and as she was putting on her hat, Carl 
happened to pass and gave a parting caution, “Now 
don’t forget about that cable.” 

Her reply, “No I won’t,” was given in a rather 
strange tone and she was thankful that Carl did not 
appear to notice it. Hurriedly she left the office, 
her entire body atremble. She did not go near the 
cable office nor did she partake of her customary 
ice-cream soda lunch. The fear that rose up within 
her had robbed her of all desire to eat. Instead 
she walked the streets, thinking, thinking. 

Returning to the office a little later than usual she 


288 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

summoned her courage and at once went to Carl’s 
private office. 

In response to his eager and questioning look she 
said, “There has been no such message received for 
the past three months.” 

This she figured, certainly covered the period 
since Carl himself had left Timbuktoo, and contin¬ 
ued, “I had them look over all the books and 
through all their files, and having done so, they were 
positive that no cable of any sort had been received 
for you from Timbuktoo or any other place in 
Africa. In fact, you did not receive any foreign 
messages since you returned from abroad.” 

Carl turned away in silence, not knowing what 
to make of it, but realizing all too well that the 
cable might have gone astray. 

Grace stood silently, noting carefully Carl’s every 
gesture and expression, as she awaited a reply. He 
dismissed her with apparently kindly spoken words, 
“All right, never mind it then.” 

As she left his office, she breathed much easier 
and a great burden seemed to have been lifted from 
her guilty soul. He suspected nothing! 

A few minutes later however, Carl asked her for 
a cablegram blank and instead of dictating the mes¬ 
sage to her he wrote it out himself, and personally 
rang for a messenger. 


THE DEADLY RIVAL 


289 


When the messenger arrived, Grace, going to the 
door of Carl’s office, said, “The boy is here Mr. 
Lohman, will you give me the cablegram?” 

“Send the boy in here.” 

As the boy entered the office, Grace closed the 
door behind him, remaining close outside in an effort 
to hear what was said. But all she heard was 
“Charge it.” 

She went quickly to her desk and sat down as 
the boy came out and departed through the outer 
door. It occurred to her too late that she might 
have gone out into the hall and demanded the mes¬ 
sage from the boy and after having perused it, 
handed it back to him with no one the wiser as to 
her deception. 

In her high strung and nervous state, her mind 
was not working as clearly as usual, or she surely 
would have realized that she could have gone to 
the cable office, at the end of the day, and for some 
plausible reason, such as having failed to retain a 
copy for the office file, procured a copy of the mes¬ 
sage. 

Picking up her pencil and notebook she muttered 
sadly, “Out of luck this time,” and entered Carl’s 
office with the words “Mr. Lohman, you wished me 
to remind you of that letter you desired to dictate 
before the close of the day. Shall I take it now?” 


2 9 o UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

“Ah yes, sit down and I will dictate at once.” 

And, greatly to the surprise and chagrin, of 
Grace, he, in the calmest manner imaginable, sat 
back in his chair and dictated the long business letter 
without a single halt or change. He was at ease, 
mentally and physically, in great contrast with his 
bewildered words of the morning. 

It was the message he had sent to Sana that had 
relieved his spirit and restored him to his normal 
bearing. 

It was Grace, who, if she had known the contents 
of that cablegram, would have trembled and been 
unfit to take the letter he was now dictating. 


CHAPTER XIV 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 


it evening, Carl wrote a long 



enclosing the gift he had 


purchased that afternoon. In higher spirits 
than at any time since that fateful morning on the 
desert he went to his club to spend the evening in 
quiet reverie. 

In the days that followed, the change in Carl 
became more and more noticeable to Grace, who at 
last realized that all her hopes were now gone as 
the winds of yesterday. This realization was a bit¬ 
ter pill to swallow but she tried to make the best 
of it. 

Weeks passed. Weeks that seemed ages to the 
anxious man but weeks that were as fleeting moments 
to the girl who dreaded the day when another letter 
should reach him from across the seas. 

At last the letter came. Receiving it from the 
postman, Grace, without hesitation now, placed it on 
Carl’s desk. What mattered it to her! But just 
the same her feelings were thrown out of balance 


291 


292 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

and with, “What’s the use,” she threw her notebook 
angrily on her desk just as Carl came in with his 
usual morning smile. 

Grace made a brave attempt to appear uncon¬ 
cerned, saying, “Mr. Lohman, there is a letter on 
your desk from your African friend.” 

Carl hurried into his office and as he opened the 
envelope turned to Grace, asking, “How did you 
know it was from Sana?” 

“Oh I thought so.” 

“Why, you did not know that she was alive. 
How did you guess it?” 

“To be frank, when you received the letter from 
Timbuktoo and when you forwarded the cablegram, 
I thought something unusual must have happened. 
Isn’t that so?” looking at her chief with a smile. 

“Yes, you are right, Miss Huntington. I told 
you that Sana had been burned to death, but I was 
greatly mistaken. Sana is alive.” 

“I am glad to hear it,” came the lying response. 

Carl was reading the letter for a second time, 
when he was called to the telephone and while still 
engaged in conversation over the wire, a business 
friend dropped in requesting Carl to accompany him 
up town, without delay, to attend to some important 
business matters. 

As they left the office, Carl informed Grace that 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 


293 

he did not believe he would be back until late in 
the afternoon. 

Later on, Grace, when placing some papers on 
his desk noticed Sana’s letter. Carl in his hurry had 
forgotten to put it in his pocket as was his custom 
with personal mail. 

Without hesitation Grace picked up the letter and 
returning to her desk, read: 


My darling boy: 

You cannot imagine how thrilled I was to get your 
sweet note, saying that you are safe and happy and 
to know that you still love me. I am, and I always 
shall be yours. I am so hungry for you, my love. 

The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose, 
when you are once more with me. 

Your message and the beautiful ring have re¬ 
moved all doubts from my heart. Thank you, my 
own. 

You must have been in an extremely loving mood 
when you wrote that letter, and looking at its date 
I found that you wrote at a time when I could not 
keep you out of my mind. I was longing, longing 
for you, beloved. It must have been mental telep¬ 
athy. At any rate that very evening I removed 
an old ring of mine, something told me to do it, 
and sure enough with your letter came that wonder¬ 
ful ring to take the place of the one I had discarded. 
To think, dear, that you will be my very very own. I 
wish you were here now so that I could better ex¬ 
press my feelings for you. But alas being so far 
apart I can but press your picture to my heart and 
lips. I am living in my dream of the future which 


294 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

like all great happenings, and like your sparkling 
solitaire, casts its brilliant beams ahead. 

You know I love you dearly and I hope the day 
of supreme joy will soon come, when I shall register 
a vow before God, you and myself, to devote my 
life and love to you. I will be yours, yours—en¬ 
tirely yours and you will be mine, all mine! Won’t 
it be wonderful, too wonderful to believe? 

As you read these lines I am longing, longing for 
your embraces and caresses. 

When thinking of you and the short sweet hours 
we had together, the mirror reflects my eyes like 
two bright stars of the desert night and I shall keep 
them shining to lead you back across the desert to 
your Sana. 

Many thanks again, Carl, for the lovely surprises 
of today. 

Having now your splendid photograph to make 
clearer my mental picture of you, I am reading your 
character anci writing down mv observations and 
comparing them with what astrology has to say. 

This is my Carl—You are a keen observer, quick 
in thought, practical, energetic, patient, good na- 
tured, self controlled and determined. You are a 
planner and a diplomat. The flnely chiseled features 
of your head and hands, as well as your silky hair 
and fine skin show natural refinement, love of beauty, 
harmony and quality. This is also proven by your 
voice. Your forehead, nose and eyes, prove your 
intellectual power. 

Zodiac says: (Born between August 22nd and 
September 23rd). You have a fine and discriminat¬ 
ing mind, great endurance and aptitude in acquisition 
of knowledge. You are capable of attainments in 
whatever line you undertake; but if you follow liter¬ 
ary pursuits or astronomy you will obtain decided 
distinction. Whatever you do is done in an orderly, 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 


295 


systematic manner. You are fond of variety. You 
possess great rallying powers and it would be hard 
to keep you down. You are emotional, generous, 
large hearted, fond of music and the arts. You are 
instinctively descriminating, having likes and dislikes, 
hut do not care to be restrained or opposed in your 
inclinations. You like things tasty, rich and elegant 
but are still a strict observer of the rules of health 
and nature. 

While the stars say you are fond of art and tasty 
things, they do not say you are fond of the feminine 
sex. I suppose that those old astrologers who al¬ 
ways looked at that imaginary belt in the heavens 
containing the twelve constellations of the Zodiac, 
to forecast human destiny, did not care anything 
about us women. So, this is my Carl! 

Well, good-bye then for a while, with much love, 

Your little girl of the desert, 

Sana. 

Grace, having finished reading the letter, realized 
that Sana was much cleverer than herself in express¬ 
ing her feelings, and able to say far more than she 
would have ever attempted to put down on paper. 

Comparing herself with Sana, Grace appeared to 
herself as a hypocritical puritan. She hated herself 
now for having let Carl slip away from her. Yet, 
she no longer bore him any grudge. She realized 
that he had treated her more kindly than she de¬ 
served. 

It did not occur to her that the greater the in¬ 
telligence and culture of a person, the greater the 


296 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

expression and the appreciation of love. The less 
intelligent cannot understand it. The lower the 
plane, the less refined, the fewer and feebler are the 
inner feelings. The imagination of women plays a 
great role and it is just this that the dull unsophisti¬ 
cated human being is unable to comprehend. 

Even the mating of the intelligent with the dull 
does not help the latter; it is beyond their power to 
learn. That they miss joys of life, they cannot see, 
or know why. 

Society would cio well to teach the public the true 
meaning of love and the part it plays in the progress 
of civilization. Unadvised, most people plunge 
blindly and madly along, not realizing the truth and 
heading straight for destruction. Much of this 
could be avoided were we of today but properly 
versed in the real meaning of life. Of course, such 
teaching would deprive many so-called vice crusaders 
and other self appointed fanatical apostles of an 
easy way to make a living, but the world would be 
wiser and happier. 

Carl was more than anxious now to have his 
plans and specifications finished. Several weeks of 
hard work went by quickly, then came the message 
that made Carl forget all about engineering prob¬ 
lems and sent him hurrying across the ocean to 
Sana’s side. 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 


297 


LIpon going to his office one morning he found 
a cablegram awaiting him, telling him that von 
Sarnoff and de Rochelle were causing Sana a great 
deal of annoyance and that she wished he could come 
to aid her in her distress. 

Grace, too, had read the cablegram from Sana. 
Although she had long realized that the man was 
dipping through her fingers, she was determined now 
to go to whatever extreme might be necessary to 
obtain her end. 

Once more the temptation of using the machinery 
of the law, by means of the Mann Act, occurred to 
her. Should she take advantage of it? The more 
she studied the situation, the more promising did the 
invoking of this law appear to her. Surely, she 
mused, she was in a position to make things dis¬ 
agreeable for Carl. Her word, she knew, would 
carry more weight with the minions of the law than 
his. His denials would be useless once she had 
stated her case and started the wheels aturning. 

Carl had certainly set the trap for himself when 
he had refused to allow her to repay the money he 
had advanced for her passage from Africa. 

Grace could not refrain from laughing aloud as 
she thought of this. At any rate, she figured, there 
was enough against him to prevent his leaving the 
country, at least for the time being. 


298 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

And in the meantime what of Sana? If Carl 
could not get to her side to protect her from de 
Rochelle and von Sarnoff, they would, no doubt, take 
care of her. With Sana out of the way, Grace saw 
better chances for her own cause. 

At her home that night Grace gave much thought 
and consideration to the matter. Several schemes 
came to mind, but at last she came to the conclusion 
that it would best serve her purpose to consult a 
lawyer. 

She knew of no lawyer to whom she could entrust 
her case, so at the office the following day, she 
called up several of her girl friends, asking them 
whether they knew any such lawyer. After a few 
calls she was referred to one, as being just the sort 
of counsel she should seek. Upon getting his office 
on the ’phone she was asked to drop in during her 
lunch hour to talk things over. 

Grace told her side of the story, being careful 
not to say anything with regard to the scheming she 
had done to ensnare Carl in the meshes of her net. 
Being pressed for time, on account of a case in court 
that afternoon, the attorney asked that she return 
that evening. 

At the end of her office day, Grace again visited 
the lawyer. After relating her story once more in 
detail, Grace was assured that she had a good case. 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 


299 


“I would advise that you sue him for at least 
twenty five thousand dollars,” the lawyer suggested, 
craftily adding, “Lou can easily get several thousand 
dollars anyway.” 

“Is that all?” questioned the girl, now quite 
mercenary, at the thought of getting easy money. 

“Yes—that is unless you happen to have some¬ 
thing in writing to hold against him.” 

“I have nothing.” 

“Too bad. If you did it would be worth a hun¬ 
dred thousand to you.” 

“A hundred thousand!” 

“Yes, easily—but never mind, I can make it worth 
your while, as it is.” 

“Are you sure we have a good case against him?” 

“Positively—when he paid your fare to this 
country he committed a criminal offense, if we want 
to look at it that way—and when it comes to a 
show-down that is the way we look at it. He has 
a year of imprisonment staring him in the face. I 
believe it will be well worth his while to pay you 
to keep quiet.” 

“Yes”—replied Grace, thinking of Carl’s eager¬ 
ness to get to Sana, “I think he would.” 

“Well then, do you want me to take your case?” 

“Of course”—responded Grace. “Why do you 
ask?” 


3 oo UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

“You know, without doubt, that the profession 
cannot handle cases of this sort without a retainer 
being paid in advance.” 

“Oh, I see—what retainer would you like?” 

“One thousand dollars. As soon as you pay it, 
I shall proceed against Mr. Lohman. There will 
be no notoriety attached; simply a case of making 
him come across on the quiet.” 

“But I haven’t a thousand dollars,” Grace ob¬ 
jected faintly. 

“No? Then I’m sorry that I cannot be of assist¬ 
ance to you.” 

Grace had had visions of fur coats and luxurious 
gowns, purchased with the gold she and her attorney 
would squeeze from Carl. Blackmail, you may call 
it if you wish—but the nastiness of the name means 
nothing in the life of a “gold digger.” Now those 
fanciful dreams were fading from sight, just because 
she did not happen to have a paltry thousand dollars 
with which to satisfy the greed of the lawyer. She 
called it greed, as she sat there, trying to find a 
way out of the quandary, giving no thought to the 
fact that even “gold diggers” are often “played” for 
all they are worth. 

The attorney, too, saw some easy money slipping 
through his fingers, so turning to Grace he said, in 



GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 301 

rather a patronizing tone, “Well—I could consider 
five hundred.” 

But that sum was just as unavailable as the first 
and Grace hastened to tell him so, suggesting that 
he take the case on a fifty-fifty basis. 

“Nothing doing,” came the quick response. Al¬ 
though he didn’t tell her, the lawyer wasn’t so posi¬ 
tive that they would get anything out of Carl, as 
he had appeared to be in his conversation. Why 
then, should he waste his time on a far fetched 
gamble? 

This outcome of her plans took Grace rather by 
surprise. She had hoped to hold Carl by hook or 
by crook, and failing to hold him, the next best thing 
seemed the getting of some of his money. Now it 
looked as if she would have neither the man nor 
the gold. So far she had not struck “pay dirt” in 
her gold digging. 

But like all fortune hunters, one failure did not 
mean utter disaster and rout to Grace’s plans. 
There must be some way, she told herself, on her 
way home. Yes, there must be a way and she 
would sooner or later find it. Then she would show 
Carl she was not to be trifled with! Suppose there 
was notoriety and scandal connected with it. What 
cared she? Like so many other women she would, 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


302 

no doubt, gain by it. And that alone was her ob¬ 
ject. 

Luckily, Carl was entirely unaware of Grace and 
her scheming. He had troubles enough of his own, 
without being further burdened by any such menace 
as blackmail. 

He spent the day going from one steamship office 
to another in an effort to book passage for an im¬ 
mediate sailing to Africa. But his hunt was fruit¬ 
less. There were no vessels leaving for Africa 
within a week—neither passenger nor freight. 

The best he could do was arrange to go by boat 
to Cadiz in Spain, trusting to his luck to be able 
to secure quick passage from there on some coastwise 
steamer, touching at different African ports. 

Returning to his office he attended to a few of 
the most important matters that required his per¬ 
sonal attention and prepared to leave. His baggage 
was already on its way to the steamer, which sailed 
the following morning. Before saying “goodbye” 
however, he gave specific instructions as to the com¬ 
pletion of the competitive irrigation plans, and their 
delivery to the New York office of the Sahara De¬ 
velopment Organization. 

As Carl shook hands with Grace, she made a 
brave attempt at smiling, saying, “Don’t forget to 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 


3°3 

send us a wireless, so that I can meet you at the 
dock when you return.” 

After Carl had gone, and she was alone in the 
outer office, Grace sank heavily into her chair, and 
pointing her finger at the door through which he 
had just passed, she muttered, through clinched 
teeth, “I’ll get you yet. Yes, I’ll be at the dock 
when you return, all right. And what will happen 
then will be some surprise to you and your desert 
vamp.” 

When one is in a hurry, delay sets in. Such were 
Carl’s thoughts when the hour of sailing had long 
passed, and still the steamer remained in her berth. 
But all delays come to an end some time, and at 
noon the vessel was warped from the dock, and soon 
Carl was waving a farewell to New York’s sky¬ 
scrapers. 

As the boat steamed out to sea, Carl thought of 
the rum runners he had encountered on his last trip. 
He wondered whether the boats he saw on the hori¬ 
zon were of that calling. But these were but passing 
fancies. His thoughts were in Africa, beside a little 
lake and of a girl, who even now might be in grave 
danger. 

The passage to Spain was a slow one it is true, 
but to Carl it seemed as if they would never get 
there. The hours of sea travel became days in his 


3 o 4 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

fancy and the days ages. Every low-lying cloud 
bank, he prayed meant land, and when it proved 
otherwise, he cursed the fact that he did not have a 
real “Meteor,” like the one of his dream, at his 
disposal. 

At last Cadiz hove in sight. Assured by the 
Captain of the steamer he had come over on, that 
he could get passage on a freighter or cattleboat 
engaged in trade along the African coast, he hurried 
from the ship and immediately sought the offices of 
the steamship people named by the Captain. 

Luck smiled kindly on him. There was a vessel 
leaving that day, destined to Spanish Africa. It 
was a tramp freighter, but it seemed a floating palace 
to Carl. 

On board, Carl made plans on how to reach Tim- 
buktoo in the quickest possible way. The steamer 
would take him to Senegal. From there he could 
take the railroad that runs along the Senegal River, 
for some eight hundred miles, into the African in¬ 
terior. So far so good. At the terminus of the 
railway, however, he faced a journey of some three 
or four hundred miles on horseback. That was the 
part he dreaded. As good a horseman as he was, 
he realized the strain such a journey would place 
upon man and beast, especially so if they were in 
a hurry. But the journey itself did not worry him 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 


305 

as much as the procuring of sufficient relays of horses 
to carry on. 

Slow as the trip across the Atlantic had seemed, 
the passage of the freighter along the African Coast 
was still slower and more tedious. 

Languidly the vessel crept from port to port. 
Being a tramp her holds held a general cargo con¬ 
signed to hundreds of different points in the interior 
of the continent, which meant a stop at a half dozen 
different coast towns. The mere calling at these 
varied ports would not have displeased Carl as much 
as did the fact that the Captain of the boat saw 
fit to lay-up at each of the ports for a day or two. 
To plead with him for a more hurried journey was 
useless. He had made the trip a half hundred times, 
he told Carl, and it was always fast enough to suit 
him. And when an African coaster says that, he 
means it. 

Carl was desperate, when, one rainy morning, 
some four weeks after leaving New York, he finally 
left the steamer at the port of Saint Louis, lying at 
the mouth of the Senegal River. 

Inquiring at the railroad station as to the first 
train for Segu Sikoro, the last stop, on the road he 
was told that it would be some hours before the 
train left. 

Cursing the indifference to time one encounters ah 


3 o6 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

over Africa, Carl turned to a little telegraph office, 
and from there dispatched a message to Sana, saying 
he was on his way to Timbuktoo, and hoped to see 
her within a week. 

At last the train started its weary journey up the 
Senegal River. Carl had never traveled on an 
African railway, but, from what he had heard of 
the experiences of friends, it was something not to 
be considered in the light of a pleasure trip. Just 
how many stops it would make from time to time, 
for water and wood it used for fuel, he dared not 
picture in advance. Suffice to say, they would be 
too many to suit anyone in as great a hurry as he 
was. 

From the outset the trip promised to be an un¬ 
pleasant one. The rain and the heat, together with 
the swarming flies, foretold as much. 

Carl tried to concentrate on his books, but after 
a few hours dreary ride, punctured by several jerk¬ 
ing stops, and accompanied by shrieking wheels, he 
gave it up. He would just have to sit there and wait 
for his journey’s end. 

So he sat looking out through the rain at the 
dismal waters of the Senegal, until the train came 
to a halt at a little way station, the name of which 
Carl could not ascertain. 

Here he was joined, in way of company, by a tall 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 


307 

rugged fellow, wearing tweeds that looked totally 
out of place in that part of the country. 

As Carl looked up, the newcomer nodded pleas¬ 
antly, remarking as he did so, “Beastly weather, 
this.” 

Carl, glad to get in conversation, replied to this 
greeting with a pleasant, “Fine for ducks.” 

The other, settling his bulky figure into the seat 
opposite Carl, proceeded to fill and light his pipe, 
saying—“Not supposed to, you know, but Eve never 
been stopped yet—Smoke?” offering his tobacco 
pouch. 

“Yes thanks, I will,” and Carl, too, was soon 
wreathed in a cloud of pipe smoke. 

They sat silently for a time, each studying the 
other, when Carl, anxious to renew the conversation, 
said “From your remarks, I take it you have trav¬ 
eled this road before.” 

“Many a time. Guess I know every inch of it 
and each different shriek in the wheels. By the way, 
name is Rogers—trader and so on.” 

“Mine’s Lohman, engineer from New York.” 

“Glad to know you, Lohman,” from the other, 
who, it was apparent, did not believe much in the 
formalities. Of this Carl was glad. Here was a 
man he could talk to without having to watch his 
step every inch of the way. 


3 o8 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

The other continued, “You won’t mind my rude¬ 
ness, I hope—but would you mind my asking what 
you are doing here?” 

“Not at all,” replied Carl; “and I’ll answer you 
too. I’m trying to get to Timbuktoo in a hurry. 
And I’m sorry to say that ‘hurry’ seems to be the last 
thing thought of here.” 

“You have a long way to go, friend.” Rogers 
paused for a moment, then continued with “How 
are you going on from Segu Sikoro?” 

“I intended to go by horse if possible, but for 
the last few hours I have been worrying as to how 
I can get the horses.” 

“Well you would have good cause for worry if 
you hadn’t met me. But having met me, you need 
not worry.” 

To Carl this sounded like bragging, but he felt, 
from within, that the man was sincere. 

Without waiting for Carl to say anything, Rogers 
added “My place is but a few miles from the station, 
and a servant will be waiting for me with a buck- 
board. If you will accept my oiler, I can fit you 
up.” 

“I shall be greatly indebted to you.” 

“Not at all, friend. My motto is ‘Help others 
—you may need help some day.’ I’m not asking 
questions as to what you are in a hurry about and 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 


309 

I don’t want you to tell me, either. All I know is 
you are in a hurry and that’s enough for Rogers.” 

Carl was no fool, and realizing the offer was made 
in good faith readily accepted it. 

In due time they reached the railhead, and as 
predicted by Rogers, his servant was there, waiting 
to take him home. He hustled Carl into the wagon 
and away they went at a lively pace. 

Rogers, turned to Carl, laughing and remarked 
“Some speed in Africa, according to where you look 
for it.” 

After a half hour’s drive across the grassy plains 
they swung through a grove of trees, arriving shortly 
at the great palatial house Rogers called home. 

Inside, Rogers called for whisky and soda, after 
which he led Carl to the bath where he could rid 
himself of the dust of the journey. It was then late 
in the afternoon, and although Carl was anxious to 
be on his way, he could not refuse the invitation to 
remain overnight. 

Dawn, the following morning, found Carl up and 
dressed, after a night of refreshing sleep and rest. 
Rogers was up before him, however, and had seen 
to it that breakfast was on the table when his guest 
came downstairs. 

While eating, Rogers outlined his plan to Carl. 
A native servant, who knew the country as only a 


3 io UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

native can, would accompany Carl the entire dis¬ 
tance. They would take two of Rogers’ best saddle 
horses and ride to a distant ranch. There they 
would be given fresh horses for the next stage of 
the trip. Rogers explained that they would have to 
go a little out of their way, but they would make 
better time by having fresh horses for about every 
hundred miles. 

Breakfast over, Rogers led Carl out of doors, 
where the guide and the horses were already await¬ 
ing him. 

Thanking Rogers for his assistance and assuring 
him of his gratitude, Carl mounted, and following 
the guide rode speedily away. As he did so, he 
heard Rogers call after him “Don’t forget to let 
me know if you find the girl safe.” 

“How the devil did he guess it?” Carl mused. 
“There certainly are strange folk in this world.” 

Hour after hour they rode silently. The horses 
seemed to realize the urgent need of speed and 
every tendon was strained as they galloped along, 
placing the miles rapidly behind them. The sun 
rose high over head and sank in the distant west 
and still the two men rode, urging their mounts on 
and on. Twilight, the short misty African twilight, 
came and was swallowed by night, and yet there was 
no halting in the ride. 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 


3ii 

The moon of midnight saw the weary men drop 
from their more weary horses at the first stopping 
place, a little ranch run by a friend of Rogers. The 
baying hounds had awakened the owner, who came 
out to see what caused the disturbance. Recogniz¬ 
ing Rogers’ man, he took them into the house, and 
being told that Rogers desired that they be given 
fresh horses the following morning, he assured them 
that Rogers’ wish was his pleasure, and made haste 
to make the travelers comfortable for the night. 

The following day was much the same as the one 
previous. All day they rode and far into the night. 
They came at last to a little lake, which Carl thought 
he recognized as Faguibin, but to his chagrin the 
guide informed him that Faguibin was still a long 
distance away. 

They stayed overnight at a lonely ranch, and set 
out, once more, the following morning, before the 
sun had risen above the horizon, on the last stage 
of their ride. Again good fortune favored them 
and without mishap their horses fairly flew over the 
remaining miles. 

Weary to the point of exhaustion, Carl fairly 
staggered, late that night, into Sana’s home. 

But Sana was not there to greet him. Her mother 
informed him, between her tears, that Sana had dis- 


312 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

appeared the day before while out riding. Where 
she was she did not know. All she knew was that 
Sana was not to be found in the village, and that 
she believed Sana had been spirited away by some¬ 
one in the employ of de Rochelle. 

She directed Carl to the hotel where von Sarnoff 
was staying, saying that he was getting up a search¬ 
ing party and that no doubt, he would assist Carl 
in anything he would do to find the lost one. 

“Von Sarnoff?” cried Carl, “I thought he, too, 
was annoying Sana?” 

“He was in the beginning, but when he learned 
the truth from Sana, he ceased bothering her, and 
since then has been only trying to protect her from 
de Rochelle.” 

With the words—“All right, I’ll see him,” Carl 
rushed from the house and hurried to the hotel. 

Making himself known to von Sarnoff, Carl 
sought his aid. Gladly was the request granted. The 
searching party would start out early the following 
morning, Carl was informed, and as von Sarnoff ex¬ 
pressed it, they would find Sana even if they had 
to sift the desert sands. 

No time was lost the next day in getting away 
on the search. As they proceeded, von Sarnoff told 
Carl that he had learned that the local telegraph 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 


3G 

operator had been bribed by de Rochelle and had 
handed Carl’s message to Sana over to him. 

The village had been searched thoroughly for 
Sana, and the leader of the searching party directed 
the party to the jungle that lies close to the town, 
believing that it was there that de Rochelle would 
take his captive. Sana was too well known and too 
well liked in Timbuktoo for de Rochelle to risk 
keeping her, against her wish, anywhere in the city. 

All that day the little group of searchers beat the 
bush, but in vain; Sana was not to be found; nor 
were they even sure that the hoof prints they saw 
in the soft soil were those of the fugitives. 

Too late to continue, they camped for the night 
in the deep jungle, lying huddled on the ground, 
trying as best they could, to keep warm. They 
dared not build a fire for fear it might warn de 
Rochelle, if he were near, that he was being fol¬ 
lowed. 

Long before dawn Carl roused the party and 
again the search was on. No light was thrown on 
the trail until about noon one of the hunters found 
a hat. Von Sarnoff, rushing to the spot cried— 
“Lohman—it is Sana’s hat—we are on the right 
road after all.” 

But as the day went by, their hope of finding Sana 
grew less and less. They were getting into the 


UNDER THE DESERT STARS 


3H 

thickest of the jungle, which they were experiencing 
great difficulty in penetrating. 

Wearily they pushed their way through thorn and 
underbrush, becoming more and more discouraged 
as the hours flew by. 

Suddenly, to their startled ears, came the panic 
stricken shrieks of a woman and the wild snorting 
of a horse. 

There was no holding them now. No brush grew 
thick enough to keep them from hurrying to the spot 
from which the cries had seemed to come. 

They had not gone far, when, with a great crash¬ 
ing of branches, a madly galloping horse plunged 
past them. 

“Good God!” Carl gasped as he recognized Sana’s 
white Arab. As the horse careened by, the watchers 
saw hanging from his torn and bleeding neck, a 
black panther. 

Again the screams resounded through the jungle 
depths. 

Throwing all caution to the winds Carl plunged 
ahead. Entangling vines, scratching thorns and 
bruising branches strove to hinder him. But he was 
unmindful of all these. Nothing mattered! He 
must get to Sana, it was she who had torn the silence 
with her cries. 



Calling to von Sarnoff, “Take care of the beast!” Carl sprang 
to Sana’s side and freed her from her bonds. 


V5 
























316 UNDER THE DESERT STARS 

Von Sarnoff hurried after him, but Carl was first 
to reach a little clearing in the jungle. A wild cry 
escaped his lips as he beheld the strange sight before 
him. 

Sana was tied hand and foot to a tree. At her 
feet lay a heap of twigs. Had de Rochelle dared 
dream of torture? The question came to Carl, as 
with clenched fists, he turned to look for de Ro¬ 
chelle. He must answer for that outrage. 

But de Rochelle was beyond answering for the 
misdeeds of his life. At the opposite edge of the 
clearing lay what was once a man. Tearing savagely 
at the body, stood the mate of the panther that had 
attacked the horse. Sensing danger, the beast raised 
its head to glare at Carl, its tail swishing angrily. 

Calling to von Sarnoff “Take care of that beast!” 
Carl sprang to Sana’s side and freed her from her 
bonds. She had fainted on seeing him at the edge 
of the clearing, and he picked her up tenderly, whis¬ 
pering, softly, “All is well, beloved.” 

Meanwhile von Sarnoff with a well directed shot 
had laid the panther low. 

Holding his sweetheart in his arms, Carl saw the 
dismal jungle brightened with the rays of the setting- 
sun, as Sana recovered consciousness and with a cry 
of joy embraced him, realizing that she was safe at 
last. 


GETTING HIS IDEAL MATE 317 

The world may be but a Fata Morgana and life 
an illusion to those who keep not the faith, but to 
those who tend the fires of truth, the rays of the 
setting sun shall be messengers of Peace. 


THE END 





































































































